Todd and Smith: Once a partnership (LaurenceGriffiths/Allsport)

On Monday outgoing boss Jim Smith paid the price for over two years of struggle at Pride Park and left the club by mutual consent.

Although the 61-year-old veteran of management was due to step down at the end of the season, chairman Lionel Pickering decided swift action was needed to avert a predicament similar to that of last season.

Ironically, it is almost a year to the day since I was speculating over the future of Smith in this very column. Last term Smith saved Derby from the dreaded drop, thanks largely to the added input from Todd.

It was Smith who brought in Todd as his assistant, and the former Swindon boss had an immediate impact as a once leaky defence was shored up.

Todd was always going to succeed Smith at the helm, but it was never thought it would come this soon. But Derby have started badly yet again and another season of toil is certain to be on the cards.

One thing Todd is right about, however, is that he takes the reins at Pride Park with the club in a much better position than when he was drafted in last term. Then the Rams had five points from 14 games, now they have the same number of points in half as many games.

But Todd was a fresh face last season, this time he's only been promoted from within. He may now have complete control over team affairs, but is he really going to be able to pull it out of the bag?

The main problem Derby have is the level of their debt. Pickering has admitted that the club's overdraft stands at £20m and the bank are starting to put pressure on the club to pay it off.

In fact, the deadline for it to be cleared comes this year. That is unlikely to be enforced by the bank but, as Pickering suggested, it will be looking for at least some of the debt to be repaid.

Pickering also insisted that the £20m debt is one of the smallest in the top flight. Whereas that might be the case, other clubs are not in as much strife at the foot of the Premiership. And other clubs will not be paying off a £26m stadium for the foreseeable future.

Todd has insisted he wants to keep hold of his best players and sell off those only on the fringes of the first team. There will clearly not be much interest in those players unable to hold down a place in the Derby squad. And what interest there is will not bring in the sort of money needed here.

That points to the sale of one of the club's young stars, most likely Seth Johnson. The former Crewe player has been tracked by Rangers and Blackburn Rovers for some time, and was a target for Liverpool prior to joining Derby.

Seth Johnson: The young star will be a wanted man (PhilCole/Allsport)

The England Under 21 international is one of the most highly rated youngsters in the Premiership and has been touted as an outsider for Sven Goran Eriksson's World Cup squad. He already has one senior cap to his name - coming on as a sub against Italy last year.

Chris Riggott, the club's Young Player of the Year last season, is said to be on Gerard Houllier's hitlist. Striker Malcolm Christie - a player Jim Smith plucked from stacking shelves in a supermarket while playing for Nuneaton Borough in a £50,000 deal - is another prospect that will attract the attention of other managers.

Goalkeeper Mart Poom will also be tracked, Derby having turned down a bid from Manchester United for the Estonian last season. United now have Roy Carroll in their ranks, but there will be plenty of other clubs interested in the stopper.

So can Todd save Derby from relegation? Before the season started I felt that the goals of Fabrizio Ravanelli would stave off such a threat. Then, however, we were not aware of the full extent of Derby's financial turmoil.

Todd is a Derby legend, and he enjoyed the best spell of his playing career at the old Baseball Ground. He made 27 appearances for England during that time.

His managerial career started off at Middlesbrough as Bruce Rioch's assistant in 1986. He was promoted to manager in March 1990 and achieved a degree of success, just failing to lead the club into the top flight via the play-offs.

From Ayresome Park, Todd went on to be Frank Stapleton's assistant at Bradford before again linking up with Rioch, this time at Bolton Wanderers. Once more Todd would succeed Rioch in the manager's chair, in January 1996, but, despite leading the club straight back into the Premiership, Todd never managed to win over the Trotters' fans.

The 52-year-old eventually left Bolton in September 1999 when the board sold Per Frandsen to Blackburn Rovers without his approval. Members of the Derby board should take note.

He re-emerged at crisis-torn Swindon in April 2000, but within months had returned to the club where he excelled as a player.

Todd has the pedigree of being a decent First Division manager, but failed to keep Bolton in the Premiership and there is little to suggest he achieve this with Derby.

One thing that's certain is that he has a thankless task on his hands. He knows he has no choice but to sell players, but the only players who will raise the type of money required are his best players - who he doesn't want to sell.

When Sheffield Wednesday were relegated at the end of the 99/00 season they went down with debts in the region of £16m. Derby are in a worse financial state and should they go down the omens for an immediate return are not good. It will then certainly be sale time.

Derby need a financial saviour at this point, because if players like Johnson, Christie and Riggott are sold they will not be a Premiership side next season.