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BILLY'S WEMBLEY BOMBSHELL

LAST ACTION HERO? Boss Billy Davies celebrates before landing the news that shocked his club

Tuesday May 29,2007

By John Wragg

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BILLY DAVIES landed Derby County a £60million place in the Premiership with a 1-0 victory over West Brom at Wembley but then warned the board that he could quit within days.

Davies is unhappy that some of his signings have been criticised from within the club and is thought to be having a power battle with chief executive Mike Horton.

In the middle of the play-off semi-finals with Southampton, Davies issued a statement saying he would see out his three-year contract.

But he refused to guarantee that after yesterday’s victory.

Stephen Pearson, one of the seven players Davies has signed, got the goal but the Rams’ party, in Windsor last night, was blighted by the manager’s outburst.

He said: “I will not say that I will guarantee to stay. No. Nothing is 100 per cent. I want a discussion for sure. There’s a lot of talking to be done.

I’m saying, like anything in life, nothing is 100 per cent guaranteed.

Billy Davies

“I am very, very proud of what we’ve done and I’m not saying I don’t want to be the manager of Derby County.

“I’m saying, like anything in life, nothing is 100 per cent guaranteed.

“I’m delighted to be taking Derby into the Premier League and now I’ll sit down and have a chat and see what happens.”

Davies’s problem is not thought to be with chairman Peter Gadsby, who brought him to Derby this season with a three-year plan for Premiership football.

Charlton also wanted him, but he turned them down after he left Preston.

Davies is having a break and then expects to have talks with Gadsby and Horton but he is angered at the criticism of his players.

“There have been critics of the players, from outside and inside, and I thank them for that as they have been our inspiration,” said Davies.

“This is a club in transition. You look at West Brom, what their players cost, their Premiership players.

“We have players and they have been abused in the last couple of months. And abuse is the right word.

“Steve Howard, he wasn’t good enough, Tyrone Mears, he’s 22 and he has been abused. And there’s others very young. Hopefully people will recognise now that they are good players.”

Tony Mowbray had a brief to get Albion up but now he has failed, their squad will be changed.

Diomansy Kamara, Jason Koumas and Zoltan Gera are all likely to leave.

“We are still a Championship club,” said Mowbray.

“Any manager wants to put his imprint on the team. Some players will have to go to get some more in and we will wait and see what interest there is and what the offers are.”

Full match report: http://new.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/8223/Steve+the+prize+pupil