New Derby manager Paul Jewell will demand 100% commitment from his players as he begins the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.Jewell has taken over at Pride Park having taken a break from football after quitting Wigan in May, when he guided them to top-flight safety.

But with the Rams bottom of the table with just six points and in danger of returning to the Championship after just one season he knows he has his work cut out.

However, all Jewell will ask of his current squad is their unstinting effort for the cause.

"As long as the players give everything they have got you can't ask for any more than that," he said.

"But I won't be asking that I will be demanding it and I'm sure I will get that response from the players.

"I am sure the players will be disappointed in their points tally at the moment but we have to work together and try to get out of the mess."

Despite their precarious position the 43-year-old Jewell is not entertaining the thought of relegation.

Asked if he could keep the side up he said: "Absolutely. If I don't believe it, if the players don't believe it, if the fans don't believe it we have no chance.

"It's going to be very difficult - I'm a realist - but I'm not here to wave the white flag with 20-odd games to go. We're not adrift."

Jewell has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract to replace Billy Davies - who parted company with the club on Monday - and admitted he was excited by the challenge ahead.

Derby only contacted him yesterday but Jewell said he was able to make a decision very quickly.

"I have had few offers from clubs, which I have been really flattered by, but Derby is the one that excites me," said the former Bradford and Sheffield Wednesday boss, who has been linked with the Republic of Ireland, a return to former club Wigan, Birmingham and Bolton this season.

"The chairman (Adam Pearson) called me yesterday. It was the first time I've spoken to him ever - despite what people might think we are not old friends - and I was impressed with him.

"It happened really quickly. Sometimes that is the best way for it to happen. There are no protracted negotiations. As soon as I got the call it excited me.

"This is a fantastic football club, has great facilities and it is a club that I think we can move forward.

"We're in a struggling situation but all is not lost and I'm here for the long term to try to get the club strong and upward and going in the right direction."

Paul Ince had been linked with the vacancy - his League Two club MK Dons today issued a statement saying they had rejected an approach from Derby - but recently-installed Rams chairman Pearson claimed Jewell was the best man to replace Davies.

"Paul is a stand-out candidate with regard to managerial experience in both the Premier League and the Championship," he said.

Pearson did, however, concede on Sky Sports News: "I was very interested in Paul Ince. I think he's going to be a fantastic manager. Milton Keynes didn't give us permission (to speak to him).

"Paul has a massive future and I think Paul knows he has but in the end we needed that little bit of experience (which Jewell offers).

"I got a call from Paul Jewell's agent and my attention switched, but I think we should watch out for Paul Ince as a manager."

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