Jewell ready for Rams mission

Paul Jewell hopes to be able to prove he is a better manager having returned to football with Derby after a six-month sabbatical.

Jewell was named as Billy Davies' successor after a whirlwind 24 hours began with a phonecall from Rams chairman Adam Pearson and ended with him being unveiled at Pride Park on Wednesday morning.

And he believes he has benefited from the break, saying: "I enjoyed my time and I'm refreshed and hopefully I can come back a better manager. I've taken my time out of football to reflect on how I can get better. That time has not just been spent playing golf, as some people might think, I've done a lot of travelling and watched a lot of football to try to improve myself as a manager."

Having quit Wigan in May after keeping them in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on the final day of last season, Jewell could not resist the challenge offered by Derby.

And he dismissed suggestions he left the Latics because he could not handle the pressure of managing in the top flight, saying: I was never ill. I was never in a straitjacket as some people might have thought," said the 43-year-old.

"All I wanted to do was walk away from Wigan with my head held high. There were absolutely no health reasons. I just wanted a rest from football and I'm not ashamed to say that.

Jewell, who turned down a couple of offers to return to management during his time away from the game, has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract and stressed he considers Derby a long-term project.

However, with the team bottom of the Barclays Premier League with just six points he knows he must first focus on survival. Derby's plight is not as bad as it could be as although they have won only once in 14 matches, such is the poor standard in the lower half of the table they are only four points from safety.

Jewell certainly thinks he can pull off another great escape - having achieved it with Bradford and Wigan already in the top flight.

"If I don't believe it, if the players don't believe it, if the fans don't believe it we have no chance," he said. "It's going to be very difficult - I'm a realist - but I'm not here to wave the white flag with 20-odd games to go. We're not adrift."