After another defeat in the Championship on Monday, Wayne Rooney’s Derby County have been relegated to the English third division. A terrible disappointment for the former England international whose coaching career is struggling to take off.
Wayne Rooney dreams of an incredible return to Manchester United. Of course, the 36-year-old former English international does not think of putting on his crampons. Rather, he aims to one day coach the club that has given him so much. “I’ll be honest, the only reason I became a manager is Manchester United. I’m not ready just yet. But I have to plan everything I do to make sure it will happen one day”, he recently confessed. Before getting there, the ex-attacker still has a long way to go. Because it is hard to imagine the Mancunians entrusting him with the keys to the truck today.
Rooney goes through the galleys
More comfortable on a TV set to gun down his former teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba than to coach, Rooney had a particularly difficult start. However, everything was in place for him to start his new career on the right foot. Indeed, it was at Derby County, the club where Frank Lampard had his first successes, that he started on a bench. First as a player-coach after the dismissal of Philippe Cocu in November 2020. Then as a main coach on January 15, 2021.
Despite a difficult year with 10 wins, 8 draws and 18 losses in 36 games, his team held on to the final day of the Championship (21st position in the standings). A relief for the technician born in 86. But he was not at the end of his troubles. Indeed, his club was banned from recruitment by the FA following poor financial management and placement in receivership. And if part of the embargo had been lifted, the Rams’ season was weighed down since they were 21 points behind at the start. An impossible mission to succeed for Rooney.
Impossible mission
With 31 points on the clock (13 wins, 13 draws, 17 losses), Derby County was relegated to the English third division on Monday night after losing to QPR. A big disappointment for the former MU who preferred to remain positive by addressing the supporters. “I am disappointed, sad, angry, upset, but ultimately proud of the players, staff and fans, who have been excellent. I said to the players after the game: ‘When you come out of this locker room, come out with your head held high. Don’t lower your head’”. Especially since the Rams should certainly have maintained themselves.
Without the 21 penalty points, Derby County would currently have 52 points and would be in seventeenth position with 8 points more than the relegation first. Infuriating for Rooney. “I hope he (the club’s former owner) doesn’t have a good night tonight and that plays on his mind. I think he needs to think about it. It’s a complete waste to have left the club like this. I know Mel Morris is a huge Derby fan so I’m sure he’s sitting at home tonight feeling disappointed. We are disappointed because we did everything we could to ensure that this did not happen. We have worked very hard”.
The English want to rebuild
He added : “We knew we wouldn’t be in danger without the punishment we were given. That’s how the previous owner left us, we tried to pick up the pieces and make something amazing out of them. We were almost there, but we didn’t make it.”. Despite his repeated failures with the English club, Wayne Rooney does not want to let go of the case, he whose contract runs until 2023. His future will however be linked to the club’s takeover project. A stable which should be the property of the American businessman Chris Kirchner according to the English press.
“I want to rebuild the club. It’s a special club, a big club, and we’re all proud to be here. I want to be the one who brings back the happy days. But the recovery must take place quickly. If not, I have no idea of my future, nor that of the club.. A club where he brought positive things. “We have earned enough points to stay in this division next season and have developed some very good young homegrown players. In this sense, the future of the club looks promising. But we have to get over what happened.”, concluded the Englishman, who had refused a Premier League job at Everton last January. It will therefore still be necessary to wait before one day perhaps seeing the infernal Wayne Rooney invest the Theater of Dreams and succeed there this time as a coach.
