Davies plans Rams clear-the-air talks

Davies' side clinched promotion with a play-off final win over West Brom, but immediately afterwards he refused to guarantee he would still be around to lead the Rams back into the top flight for the first time in five years.

However, on Tuesday he told BBC Radio Five Live: "I'm not looking for an exit clause. I have signed a three-year contract, I have two years left of that contract, it's my intention to see out the remainder of those two years."

Reports on Tuesday suggested the Scot was unhappy at having to see out the season without an assistant manager after the club failed to bring in David Kelly from Preston, Davies' previous employers. But while Davies admits he has been hamstrung by the lack of an assistant, he has also reaffirmed his commitment to Derby and is planning clear-the-air talks with the board.

He said: "I always said that the focus was on the remainder of the games and after that I would sit down with the board and have a discussion and see what happens from there. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks there will be discussions taking place and we can sort a few things out.

"It is my intention to out the remainder of my two-year contract and continue with the rebuilding and development of Derby County football club."

On the situation surrounding Kelly, Davies added: "A manager relies on his assistant manager. A manager's number two is a crucial, crucial appointment, and especially such a good one like David Kelly, it's a massive, massive loss."

Reports suggested the Derby board had failed to back Davies in his bid to bring Kelly to Pride Park, but chairman Peter Gadsby insists Davies has always had the full support of the Rams hierarchy.

"We had a debt of £50million, we put substantial funds in and wrote that off, we have a very high wage bill because we backed the manager, we have also brought in 12 players in total," said Gadsby.

"To deal with that all in six months - and we backed again in January when we were top - do you honestly think, given all that, we would not have not brought in a number two, who would have been on half the wages of a player, if it wasn't just about money? There are issues and things that have gone on that really we can't talk about."