Adam Pearson, the new Derby County chairman has given his full backing to his manager Billy Davies. Pearson, the 43-year-old former Hull City supremo, has set himself the goal of finding the cash that will give Davies the funds to strengthen the squad in January.

"It's key to the future of the club that we secure significant investment and that we do it as quickly as possible," said Pearson, who has become the executive chairman after buying what is believed to be around £3.5million of shares from predecessor Peter Gadsby.

"Football is a very big business and we know the key goal is to attract external investment and it will be my role to find that so we can strengthen the team on the pitch.

"We have a shortlist of candidates and we believe Derby County is a very attractive proposition. The club has great tradition and we don't think there will be problems attracting investment."

Pearson, who sold Hull in the summer, promised to back Davies when the transfer window reopens after Christmas. Derby slipped to the bottom of the Premier League after a 2-0 loss to Everton at the weekend

"I am not going to sit here and say there will be a bottomless pit but there will be trading in the January window," he added. "Billy has done a fantastic job to get the club into the Premier League and, if the worst came to the worst and we went down, we couldn't have a better manager to bring us back up. We are absolutely 100% committed to him.

"The board and I will continue to offer Billy our full support in our quest to remain in the Premier League and we will be exploring all possible options.

"The progress achieved by Peter and the board over the last 18 months has been quite remarkable with the club returned to the Premier League and financial stability achieved well ahead of the initial timescales set.

"I will be leading the board and management team to ensure the progress and development of Derby County continues at the same pace and ultimately leads to an established Premier League club which can compete financially on a level footing with clubs of similar tradition and stature."

Gadsby, who led the consortium that rescued Derby from the brink of financial oblivion 18 months ago, will stay on the board.

He said: "Adam made it clear that if he was going to come in he wanted to lead the board. So I have sold a substantial block of my shares at the price I bought them and I am not leaving the chairmanship with a profit.

"This has helped provide the foundations for the club to seek further investment to bolster the squad and enable us to compete. I have had a wonderful relationship with Billy Davies and he is certainly the right man to keep us in the Premier League."