JEWELL: WIGAN TO BEAT THE DROP
As the Rams head for Wigan on Saturday Paul Jewell is backing his former club to beat the drop.
"Of course there's hope for Wigan this season," the Derby boss tells RamsWorld in a video interview available now to subscribers.
"I always battled against the odds there, with people ridiculing us for the size of our support.
"I keep going on about Derby's history and great support, but that doesn't guarantee anything. We have got to have the players on the pitch.
"If I can get the players on the pitch then with the size of support we have we can go forward - a long way forward."
But his admiration for Wigan - where he scored 35 goals in 137 appearances as a player before returning as manager from 2001 to 2007 - is undimmed.
"I think Wigan is a brilliant football club and I loved my time there," says Jewell. "The people who run the club are brilliant.
"They are obviously always going to be up against it support-wise, but they have six teams right on their doorstep and they have come a long long way in a short space of time.
"I think they will stay in the Premier League this season and if the people off the pitch have the foresight then they can sustain top level football.
"I have nothing but good things to say about Wigan. I didn't leave under a cloud. I joined when they were a Second Division club and left them in the Premier League and I'm very proud of that record."
And of the task ahead at Derby, Jewell is determined to make progress - even if he upsets some people along the way.
"In football it is easy to be liked, but respect is a bit more difficult," he adds.
"I'd like to be both, but I'd rather be respected than liked. I think the people who support Wigan know I did a decent job for them but they also did a decent job for me and supported me when things weren't great at the start.
"When I came here we had six points and 24 games to get another 32. It doesn't sound a lot, but when you take over a team that is demoralised and knows it's punching above its weight it is difficult.
"I am not making excuses. I take responsibility because I am the manager of this football team and we haven't got enough points since I came here, but basically since day one I knew it was going to be very very difficult to stay up.
"I have come here with a plan for next season in the Championship. To get back into the Premier League again and be stronger than we are is my goal."
