The Rams' wretched season hit a new low as a depleted Hammers side ran out 5-0 winners at Pride Park.

Despite insisting he still believes Derby can avoid the drop and that he is the man to help them do so, Davies pulled no punches in his assessment of his side's display.

From being 1-0 down at half-time to a Lee Bowyer goal, the game was over within nine minutes of the restart as Matthew Etherington, Jonathan Spector and Bowyer again made it 4-0.

Nolberto Solano completed the rout with a stunning free-kick.

"A crazy 10-15 minutes cost us dearly and at the end it was men against boys," Davies said.

The Rams boss refused to make an excuses for his side, who were without a number of key players through injury.

"That is not an excuse. The excuse is that in the first 20 minutes we had opportunities to take the lead," he said.

"We still had enough quality on that pitch to pick up points but it wasn't to be."

Davies was unhappy with his side's response to going behind, saying: "They let their heads go down too easily, they stopped competing.

"The confidence drained out of us, the belief drained out of us.

"That's a disappointment."

Davies promised reinforcements in January, although on the evidence of this display major surgery is required to stem the flow of goals at one end and the lack of them at the other.

"They all know the next transfer window is going to be very important to us," Davies said,

"We had to play a 35-year-old centre-back in Marc Edworthy today."

Of the international break, he said: "There's a fortnight now to do what we can.

"I have lost no belief, I have lost no confidence.

"I know exactly where we are and what we have to do."

Despite hailing his side's performance, Hammers boss Alan Curbishley was equally concerned about the latest injury woe to hit the club.

George McCartney was forced off before the quarter-hour mark with an ankle problem, while Lee Bowyer was playing with a groin injury and Curbishley revealed he will have an operation on Tuesday.

"Fantastic result for us," said Curbishley.

He said of the injuries: "Lee Bowyer's got to have something done. He was playing with a groin strain. He's got to have an operation on Tuesday.

"We're hopeful Georgie isn't as bad as we think.

He added: "It's the way it's been for the last month or two.

"Everyone's been going on about the injuries, it's there, everyone can see it.

"But it's a little disrespectful to the players who have been playing. They have been picking points up."

Of the game, he said: "I think today, the first goal was always going to be the vital one and we managed to get it.

"That really settled us down and put Derby on the back foot.

"It's very difficult when you're down the bottom there and you go one down.

"We had opportunities in the first half, perhaps to get the second, and it didn't happen.

"We sat down at half-time and said if we go out and set about this right and we get another one, then we can enjoy it. And that's what happened."