Nottingham Forest chairman Nigel Doughty believes that Billy Davies is in a unique group of managers in this country.

The Scot guided Forest to safety in the Championship this season after taking over at Christmas with good records at Preston and Derby behind him.

And Doughty thinks that Davies' presence at the City Ground is key to the club's future ambitions.

"Billy is a real tour de force to work with," he told his club's official website. "When you work with him he has a vibrancy and an energy that I've not seen for quite some time.

"He has a intellectual approach to everything and an analytical approach. You have to say to yourself, there are 92 managers in the Football League and with respect to them, I'm sure they all try and do their job with a great deal of professionalism, but there are probably only half a dozen to a dozen that you could say are successful managers and successful at a number of different club.

"I think we were very fortunate that we managed to attract Billy and I think we've got one of those half a dozen to a dozen in Billy."