Smith hopes for relegation tonic

Jim Smith has been known to enjoy a glass of whisky to celebrate the good times. Now he might need a couple of stiff scotches as Derby County teeter on the edge of relegation.

The Bald Eagle has seen enough tight squeezes to take Derby's plight in his stride, but he admitted after the disastrous 2-0 defeat at doomed Bradford that he is in for a few sleepless nights.

Being five points clear of a relegation spot with three games left would not normally unduly concern the veteran Smith, but the calibre of their forthcoming opposition - Arsenal, Manchester United and Ipswich - suggests they may remain stranded on their current 38 points.

Which leaves Coventry and Manchester City with the hope of overtaking a team whose finishing failed them at Valley Parade.

'It's happened before,' said Smith. 'We're five points clear with three to play. Coventry have to beat Liverpool and Villa in their next two to give us a problem. But people get nervous when they're losing games. We've got to keep calm and collected, make sure there's no panic. But you can tell the players that and you don't know what will happen once they cross that white line.'

Smith was without 11 senior players at Bradford then saw skipper Seth Johnson blow their chances of a point with a red-card tackle on Stuart McCall with 57 minutes gone.

Former Derby striker Ashley Ward scored both Bradford goals but said: 'I hope Derby have enough points in the bag. They traditionally do well against Manchester United but probably thought this was their best chance of a win. But no manager has more experience than Jim.'