Mike Ashley's stance on Derby takeover made very clear as fan emails emerge

Mike Ashley is still fully committed to buying Derby County, according to one of his closest aides.

Reports over the weekend suggested that Ashley, the former Newcastle United owner, was ready to give up his pursuit of the troubled Rams.

The Sports Direct boss has been linked with a move for Derby for months but Ashley was said to have been left "angered" by Derby's administrators' rejection of his initial proposal to buy the club.

Now, speaking to Sky Sports, Ashley's head of PR Keith Bishop says that his boss is still very much interested in rescuing the East Midlands side.

"He is 100 per cent interested in buying the club," said Bishop. "He wants the Derby fans to know he is very much interested.

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"He sees it as a club that could do really well, obviously it's not doing very well at the moment, but with his business acumen, he believes he could really turn it around.

"He's still a very rich man, who has got the funds to put into the club, and he has got the business acumen to change things there.

"If I were a Derby fan I'd be very happy. And from the response we are getting, there are a lot of fans who want him to come in and take the club over.

"With where they are now, they deserve a lot better. And that's what he can do."

Ashley ended his 14-year tenure of Newcastle last October when the North-East club were taken over by a Saudi-led consortium.

Bishop added: "We've had a lot of emails recently from Derby fans saying they want him to take over, which has also pleased him obviously.

"He's a rich individual, but not one that could take Newcastle where it needed to be, so that's what he did.

"At Newcastle, he did get things right off the pitch. I think he might say he never got it quite right on the pitch, but off the pitch, he did.

"And I think that's what Derby needs right now - someone who knows football, but is also a good businessman."

Bishop went on to warn: "The clock is ticking. If anyone bought it now, it would take almost 12 weeks to get it done, and so that takes us nearly into May [if someone were to buy the club now].

"So there are frustrations all the way round, which I can't really go into. But he would like to get these frustrations sorted and move forward.

"He's always hopeful. We've been involved in many deals over the years - some you win, some you don't. I know he would like to do it but you can never guarantee anything."

Derby have been in administration since September and have been docked a total of 21 points.

Despite that handicap, they are making a good fist of battling relegation and Wayne Rooney's side are just seven points from safety ahead of Tuesday's home game with Hull City.