BILL Shankley may have famously mused about football being more important than life and death.

But, even to the most committed of the sport's devotees, sometimes it simply isn't.

Billy Davies will be able to testify to that as well as anyone.

The Nottingham Forest manager was not present to witness it as Robert Earnshaw slotted home the goal that earned Forest an FA Cup replay against his former side at Pride Park.

But he describes the decision to miss the game as the best of his life. Instead, Davies was witnessing something more important in a Glasgow hospital, as his son William opened his eyes for the first time, after suffering a serious allergic reaction during surgery.

"It was a very easy decision, there was not even a doubt in my mind," said Davies. "I went to the hospital on Friday morning and my son went in at 8am. We were told it was going to be a six-hour operation and to expect a phone call at 2pm.

"My plan was to come back for the game. But we heard nothing at 2pm, 3pm or 4pm and were obviously very concerned.

"I phoned the chairman and said that I was not coming back, because I wanted to look after my son. He took a very bad allergic reaction to morphine and, at that point, at 4pm, I just said I wasn't going.

"By 7pm, that was the best decision I had made, when my son opened his eyes. I was delighted to be there. It was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Nothing else matters. Football is insignificant when it comes to your family."

Davies, clearly, has a clear sense of perspective where it matters. And, while he is glad to be back in charge for tonight's clash against Forest's most fierce rivals, he again plays down it's importance in the grander scheme of things.

Because, while the prospect of securing victory over Derby and, at the same time, securing the opportunity to play Manchester United in the next round, is a mouthwatering one, Forest have a bigger priority.

To retain their Championship status.

"What this is is a great game between two rivals and I know it is about the bragging rights between the two sets of fans," said Davies.

"But it is not about the cup tie, it is about the rest of this season. It is about securing our place in the Championship."

The disappointed mood around the club, at the failure to land any one of the four or five players Forest bid for during the transfer window is only added too by the current injury crisis.

But Davies is determined that his players will go into the match in the right frame of mind.

"We have enough in our locker, if we perform as well as we can, to go and win this match," he said. "We have what we have, we have to be positive.

"But my biggest concern is getting our injured players back involved. We need to get all hands on deck here again, with the players we have already got, to enable us to manage two games in a week.

"My big worry is extra time and injuries however, because already we are down to the very bare bones.

"If we do pick up injuries or go into extra time, it could leave us with a huge problem for the weekend and we can't afford to lose any more bodies.

"Nathan Tyson was disappointed with his performance on Saturday. But I said to him – you can't play that number of matches and not expect to feel the effects of it.

"In the first half the whole team looked leggy and that was just because we were asking too many players to play so many games.

"The transfer window is gone, is it done.

"What we will do now is galvanise every squad player we have in that dressing room. We will get the spirit right and try to get the injured players back in the squad.

"I have got to do my job and my job is to work with the players who are available, it is as simple as that.

"We can sit here and talk about who could and should have come in – but that does not matter now.

"What matters now is that we focus on the guys we have in the dressing room and do all we can to win this football match."

And Davies says that Forest fans must play their part in that.

"I would ask the fans to get behind the team and the players, because they need the support," he said.

"We need them to get behind the players – we all have to be very positive and look to the future, not the past.

"We have to work hard together to stay positive, to work together and to galvanise this very, very young side; give them all the help that they need.

"I would be more confident if we had the likes of Bennett, Lynch, Anderson, Earnshaw, Davies and Guy Moussi – there are a number of players who are out injured who would be very, very useful at the moment.

"The squad depth is very much on the thin side and we are having to rely on one or two players who have not played first team football.

"But it is a challenge. We can sit and moan and groan about it all we like.

"But it is a time to be positive, not negative."