Just as well Davies is game for a laugh as Rams crash again

Now it is Billy Davies' turn to come up with a plausible reason for his team to be playing Premier League football next season.

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The managers of Sunderland and Watford ran out of excuses as they exhorted their squads against all the odds week after week in past seasons.

But Derby's boss, with six defeats, no goals and just one away point so far, is banking on additional investment allowing him to plot a survival course.

To that end, Davies refused to chastise keeper Stephen Bywater and defender Dean Leacock for the public spat that followed the final whistle at Villa Park.

Thankfully, his sense of humour has remained intact.

"I'm still confident we will get out of it," he said. "At 23 years of age, I'm gaining a lot of experience! I'm learning.

"That's what will eventually see me win the World Cup as a manager — at the age of 39!

"Look, we were prepared to take early setbacks. We will mature. We will make changes in January.

"Until then, we have to sort things out on the pitch ourselves.

"We need to become nastier. Among ourselves. Two of my players were having a go, were they?

"Come on. Big wow. I'm not going to apologise for that, because they've had words.

"They were mates again when they came in the dressingroom.

"Well, they were after I'd knocked them out." Words were also exchanged behind Villa's dug-out as the group who made former boss David O'Leary a target turned their attention to Martin O'Neill after a rather uninspiring opening first half.

O'Neill is cute enough to look after himself in any verbal jousting.

Unlike his fellow Irishman, he admitted that his detractors might have had a point.

Talking about one critical fan, O'Neill said: "I heard him saying something that I was thinking. I saw him at half-time funnily enough and he came down to have a few words.

"He said out loud what I was trying to impart — we needed more momentum.

"You pay your money and you are entitled to say what you think.

"If you decide you want to cheer for the whole 90 minutes, great.

"If you want to moan for the whole 90 minutes then that's entirely your prerogative."

But goals from Martin Laursen and Ashley Young in four second-half minutes meant the moaners were silenced for another week.

ASTON VILLA: (4-4-2) Carson 6; Mellberg 6, Knight 5 (Davies 88min), Laursen 8, Bouma 6; Petrov 5, Reo-Coker 6, Barry 6, Young 7 (Maloney 69, 5); Moore 5 (Berger 77), Agbonlahor 7. Booked: Mellberg.

DERBY COUNTY (4-1-3-2): Bywater 6; Griffin 4, Moore 7, Davis 5 (Teale 46, 5) McEveley 5; Leacock 5; Oakley 5, Pearson 5, Barnes 5; Howard 4, Fagan 4 (Earnshaw 65, 5). Booked: Griffin, Moore.

Man of the match: Martin Laursen.

Referee: Mark Halsey.