Nigel Clough expected to deny Billy Davies's claim of 'cowardly' assault

Derby County's manager, Nigel Clough, is to deny strenuously the allegations of a "cowardly" assault on his Nottingham Forest counterpart, Billy Davies, in the stoppage-time melee that tarnished a bad-tempered east Midlands derby and is likely to see both clubs fined by the Football Association. Davies, back at Pride Park for the first time since he was sacked as Derby's manager in November 2007, alleged that Clough struck him from behind with a raised knee as players and officials scuffled on the touchline over a disputed ­throw-in. He refused to shake Clough's hand at the end of Derby's 1-0 win and questioned whether his rival's "head went" because of the "poison" surrounding the fixture. He added that Clough had been "cowardly" and "petty", and "knew exactly what he was doing". Clough, a Forest player for 11 years, refused to respond to the allegations after Saturday's game and asked Derby's ­first-team coach, Johnny Metgod, to attend the post-match press conference. However, he intends to describe the allegations as "laughable" when he talks to the media for the first time since the incident tomorrow. He will insist that his conscience is clear and dismiss it as sour grapes on the part of a losing manager. Television pictures show Clough moving towards Davies, who has his back turned, but it is unclear exactly what happens then because the view is obscured by one of the Derby players. Clough's version of events is that there was contact but that it was an accidental collision and that Davies has overreacted. Davies can be seen turning to remonstrate with a manager with whom he used "to get on great but something changed when he became Derby manager". Forest were fined £25,000 and Derby £20,000, £10,000 of which was suspended in both cases, after the FA charged them with failing to control their players because of a confrontation when they met at the City Ground in August. The FA has requested a copy of Saturday's match video and will decide in the next 72 hours whether it plans to take further disciplinary action. At the least, the suspended fines will be invoked but the FA also feels duty-bound to investigate Davies's complaints given the seriousness of his allegations.