Fergie shows the way

Davies will lead out his Derby side at Wembley in the Championship play-off final against West Bromwich, a game with the prize of a place in the Premiership and £60 million. He takes with him the good wishes of Sir Alex, sent by text in the morning as he prepares for the next step in the resurrection of a club who were going nowhere when he took them over a year ago.

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Ferguson, the mentor for so many young managers in the English game, said: "Billy is a Govan man like myself. His father and my father worked together in the old Fairfield shipyard. Young Billy came to me as a fabulous little player when I was in my first managerial job at St Mirren.

He was talented but I didn't sign him and he reminds me, every time I see him. Ally McCoist is another I didn't sign then and who went on, like Billy,to have a marvellous career with Rangers.

"When we meet it is always the same, with me being told that if I didn't sign them how could I possibly know anything about the game. The truth is I was only in and out at St Mirren. I wasn't there long enough to sign them before I moved to manage Aberdeen. It didn't hold either of them back."

If Fergie was impressed with Davies the footballer, he is thrilled at his pugnacious countryman's success as a manager since moving south, first bedding in to work with the former Scotland boss Craig Brown at Preston, then succeeding him.

Davies endured two play-off failures with that club, but now has his chance and there will be many admirers of his man-management skills who will not be at all surprised if it turns out to be third time lucky for the Scot, 42, whose fire in the belly' burns almost as hot as Fergie's.

"Where does that come from? Very probably from my working-class background and upbringing," said Davies. "My father was a welder in the Govan shipyards and my mother worked in a mental hospital.

We were a very working-class family. I was brought up on the streets of Glasgow and I had to pick up chewing gum off the floor and things like that! That's how we lived.

"It was a very similar upbringing to Fergie and I just think that's what moulded me into what I am. It was a humble background but I'll never forget it, or lose sight of it."

Davies was close to getting Alan Curbishley's job at Charlton at the start of the season before taking over a Derby team who had only just escaped relegation. In a season he has lifted them from fifth from bottom to a whisker away from automatic promotion, and even if he does not win tomorrow, many expect to see him in the Premiership soon.

Ferguson said: "It's never too early. When the chance comes you take it. Tomorrow may never come. I've watched his career and there's no doubt he has proved himself as a manager.

"He knows what he's doing, he makes an impact, you can see he is totally involved. Look at the way he reacts on the touchline. I've had to text him a few times to tell him his actions are not becoming a Govan boy."

That's another private dig', but Ferguson sees in Davies a manager good enough to tap into and exploit the resources available.

He added: "Derby have a good history and he will make the maximum of what he has. Anything can happen in a play-off and West Brom have a fine team — and another good manager in Tony Mowbray. Nerves will be exposed and you must have that, with so much to play for."

Davies admits the three-year master plan' when he arrived to pick up the pieces on and off the field was merely to steady the ship and show steady progress' this year, with the aim of a top 10 finish next season before setting sights on the top six.

"What we've achieved this season, win or lose at Wembley, has been outstanding," he said. "We had 17 players when I arrived and just one recognised striker in Paul Peschisolido,who was 35.We targeted younger players in the Premiership, who had flaws in their game at the time but who, in a year to 18 months, would have the hunger and determination to take the club forward.

"I brought in guys like Dean Leacock (Fulham), Jay McEveley (Blackburn), Tyrone Mears and Stephen Bywater (West Ham) and David Jones (Manchester United), who just needed to play regularly and settle into being confident in a first-team environment.

"Although they were signed to help us get out of this division, with the right mix of experienced players around them they could all shine in the Premiership next season if we go up."