The Rams left behind their truncated summer and short pre-season to take on the might of the Premier League for real.

Claude Davis nursed a hamstring strain from the Espanyol game but was declared fit to join the squad for the Pompey game after joining in Monday's ‘open' training session. The same day, Derby County announced that they had sold over 30,000 tickets for Saturday's Prem curtain raiser against Portsmouth. Another boost was that Giles Barnes has now resumed training after his foot injury.

Media reports suggested that a £2.2m fee could bring Mika Vayrynen, a 25-year old left sided Finnish midfielder from PSV Eindhoven to Derby County. Another report noted he had a slight injury. However, by Friday evening, Vayrynen was in Derby finalising his move subject to the medical. Also early in the week it was mooted that USA international defensive midfielder Benny Feilhaber, (22) currently with Hamburg SV was the subject of a £1m bid from Derby.

He is Brazilian of Austrian heritage; during the week, Derby were processing a work permit - which was granted – again, by Friday his transfer was under way and the player was due in Derby at the end of the week to finalise the move. So, things were looking up with two more attacking players added.

The Rams apparently put in a bid worth £5m for Soton's Kenwyne Jones over a week ago, and then last Monday the story broke. Immediately, Southampton 's chief executive announced that his club would report Derby to the FA about aspects of the approach. Southampton are financially strapped and perhaps didn't wish to admit to Saints fans at this time that they have to sell, and needed to deflect attention?

Billy Davies was exasperated, saying Derby had acted correctly and commented that agents or so-called representatives of players contacting other parties about impending deals ‘is rife in the game'.

After the kerfuffle died down, however, there were further suggestions all week that the deal wasn't dead in the water and Saint's boss George Burley suggested that they were not in a position to turn down good offers. Some reports have added Saint's John Viafara to Davies' wanted list with a double deal mooted.

Billy is absolutely right about agents and the miscellaneous other hangers-on and contacts, in that it's impossible for a manager to control such communications, as leaks will occur. Billy is luckless – a week ago his hopes of landing another target, Dusan Svento evaporated in a training injury to the Slovakian winger; now inter-club politics is intervening in another deal. Nevertheless, he's ‘putting his foot on the gas' in the quest to add depth and quality to his squad ASAP.

Asked if he had 75% of the squad in place, Davies said: “Less than that.” He declared that the Rams wouldn't be ready until the end of August, as they had started weeks behind everyone else. It was a declamatory interview, which served to acknowledge fans' concerns about the squad depth and quality and feed off the ‘underdog' tag that Derby will carry with them as the pundits' favourites for relegation.

Incoming transfer rumours included the Rams going in with a £1m bid for Glasgow Rangers' 29-year old French midfielder Brahim Hemdani. Elsewhere, Trabzonspor striker Kiki Musampa and Ex-loanee Jon Stead also popped up via somewhat dubious sources as possible Rams' targets. The Times said that Derby wanted Palermo 's Polish striker Radoslaw Matusiak.

Outgoing moves continued with fullback Richard Jackson, a Derby player for 8 years but never really established as a first-choice, leaving the club this week, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. He soon found himself a new deal, joining Paul Peschisolido and Darren Currie at Luton Town. They'll all feel quite at home in their black & white Luton kit! Stories emerged of another possible departure, Hull City apparently wanting veteran defender Michael Johnson for £250k.

Some journalists trundled out the evergreen ‘Giles Barnes to West Ham' stories again, with Alan Curbishley citing he'd pay £2.5m - well under Derby's valuation - in this ongoing reportage, which serves to unsettle fans and the player on the eve of the season. Whether Derby would ‘cash in' if the offer were right remains a raging argument across the Rams' MBs!

On Thursday, the Derbyshire Building Society opened a branch at Pride Park Stadium. Derby County are the first football club in the UK to open such a facility. It all links in with the affinity accounts and club sponsorship from this major sponsor. So, 18 months after Rams fans were desperate to learn where all their season ticket money and the club's income was vanishing via obscure global offshore accounts, they can now operate a perfectly legitimate domestic account in the convenient environs of their own stadium!

Whilst the Derbyshire remains the Rams' biggest sponsor, the south stand - formerly named after the building society sponsorship - has been renamed as The University of Derby Stand after a new tie up through commercial and community partnerships between club and university. Brewers Marstons are now sponsoring the southwest corner of Pride Park Stadium and Ian Shipton Cars the northwest corner.

Following their ambitious brilliance at judging that Derby will be relegated straight away from the Prem, bookies' William Hill cited 6-1 odds of Billy Davies being the first Premier League manager to be ordered from the technical area/dugout/stadium/city or whatever by a referee next season!

Six months of dithering were necessary for the FA Disciplinary Panel to schedule a hearing regarding Billy Davies; they met last Thursday and managed to impose an immediate one-match ban on Billy Davies, relating to his conduct towards a match official at Southend's Roots Hall on January 20 th 2007. Davies was also fined £1,750 and warned as to his future conduct. The boss was therefore absent from the touchline for the home game against Portsmouth, David ‘Ned' Kelly took charge of the technical area. Davies will be appealing against aspects of the charges.

Of course, the main event of week 32 was the spirited 2-2 draw with Portsmouth on Saturday in front of over 32,000 in baking heat. Derby played well and there were some excellent performances, notably from Mears, Fagan, Todd, Oakley and Davis. Derby scored cracking goals via Oakley and Todd but defensive slips let Pompey punish them and Todd's spectacular diving header from Teale's cross was justice done.

Rams fans created a great atmosphere and the 3,100 Pompey fans enjoyed their day in Derby. With their crisp and compact display, Derby dispelled some of the forebodings and gloom from those expecting us to be pushovers. There is room for improvement and the squad depth and quality is still being enhanced so fans can be optimistic about survival if the Rams can take it on from that promising beginning.

From the perspective that Pompey spent £23m on players in the close season whilst the Rams have spent £9m so far, it was an encouraging opener from the Rams and the fitness, tactics and commitment were spot on. With more players arriving and some useful debuts, some of the doom and gloom is being dispelled. Derby must now keep it up and wrest points from (allegedly) more illustrious very regularly!

Photo: Action Images

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