Mansfield shocker has Rams on notice

The Rams took a full strength squad to Field Mill on Saturday and left with their tails between their legs after the League two side Mansfield Town beat them 2-0.

With the Premier League beginning in two weeks, it certainly has given food for thought for Rams fans and has put a number of the Rams players on notice; a big improvement is needed if they are to be competitive in 2007-08.

Rams boss Billy Davies has said there may be plenty of transfer action in the next few weeks, and the Wyllie Scotsman has hinted to big changes to his side between now and when the window closes at the end of August.

He was not happy after the disappointing result to the Stags, and he was quoted in saying: “This team will be unrecognisable by then.’

With Portsmouth heading to Pride Park for the season opener on August 11, how many new signings will be at the club by then? Davies added: “We are not looking at two or three names coming in; we are looking at a lot more. That was always going to be the case.

‘We are in the transfer market, we are talking to clubs, we are looking at some big names and some big signings but modern-day transfers take some time unless you are prepared to go in and pay over the odds for players.

‘We have to make sure that, with the finances we have, we bring in the right people and that is what we are trying to do at the moment.’

Davies is hopeful Portsmouth defender Andy Griffin will join the club, after talks between Derby and the player took place on Friday and Davies is looking for an answer sooner rather than later.

‘I am hoping that can be sorted out,’ said Davies. ‘We need a decision and then we can move on because we have got to move on. Some transfer chases we will win, some we will lose. Some players we will get some we won’t.’

‘We have to be patient and we have to make sure we keep going until we get the balance right,’ added Davies.
‘Players will be coming in and players will leave. We have a lot of work to do in the transfer market and we have until the end August.

‘We have to increase the quality and squad size but the timescale is important. We have to make signings at the right time.
‘There will be lots of movement and I am very confident that, come the end of August, we will have the right quality in, we will have the right amount of bodies in, and we will have shuffled the squad around.
‘I am comfortable with where we are at the moment but I know there is an awful lot of business to be done.’