Derby give McEwan a chance

Handing the reins to Ravanelli could be a gamble

Derby will give caretaker boss Billy McEwan the chance to stake a claim to the manager's role at Pride Park.

Former reserve team coach McEwan was put in temporary charge of the Rams when Colin Todd was sacked on Monday.

Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli has been widely touted as a permanent replacement but Derby chief executive Keith Loring said he had confidence in McEwan.

"Billy McEwan has been with this club for nine years," Loring said.

Billy's a very experienced manager in his own right - he knows what he is doing

Keith Loring
Derby chief executive

"He is a great servant and people who go to the reserve games know he is a great motivator."

McEwan, 50, will lead the Rams for the crucial relegation clash against Ipswich on Saturday.

Loring said: "At the moment, with all this going on, the one thing we do need is a bit of motivation for Saturday's game, which is a big game.

"Billy's a very experienced manager in his own right. He knows what he is doing.

"He already has some exciting ideas and he has an opportunity to stake his own claim.

"I'm not suggesting that is the route we will go down. I'm not putting Billy or the board of directors under that pressure, but the bottom line is we need to win games.

Board meeting

"I've spoken to Billy and he knows his number one job is to take over the team while the board decide what our long-term plans are.

McEwan is a former manager of Sheffield United, Rotherham and Darlington.

He also took charge of Derby for the final game of the 1994/ 95 season following the departure of Roy McFarland.

The Derby board were due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the way forward for the club.

Ravanelli is being strongly linked with a player-manager's position, but he has played down the mounting speculation.

Hodgson link

However he admits he would consider an offer.

"At this time I only think about being a player at Derby County, but if that opportunity arises in the future I will evaluate it," he said.

Another name who is being linked with the post is former Blackburn manager Roy Hodgson.

Hodgson has spent most of his managerial career working on the continent and he recently parted company with Udinese after spells with Inter Milan and the Swiss national team.

Bruce Rioch, a former Derby player, and George Graham are two other experienced coaches who are available.