Football City should expect Rooney to play for Rams at Ashton Gate
BRISTOL City hope to make it three Championship wins in a row when Derby County visit BS3 on Saturday.
Standing in their way will be the side currently bottom of the league, which is some feat given that Sheffield Wednesday started with a deficit of -6 points and only 11 games have been played so far.
We spoke to Rams reporter Steve Nicholson for the latest word on City’s opponents and their new management team in charge for this coming game.
Was it the right time for Cocu to go? Sounds like he was due some hefty compensation but agreed to go for less than that.
Results can be the sands of time for managers, and they ran out for Phillip Cocu.
Just one win in 11 Championship matches this season, only two in the last 17, and 18 in his 57 league fixtures in charge (a 32% win rate) is not strong protection for when the axe is swinging and Cocu’s 16 months as Rams boss ended.
It is never nice to see a manager lose his job but with Derby bottom of English football’s second tier, their lowest position in 12 years, Cocu can have few complaints.
He can, however, and with good reason, point to a number of hurdles that could never have been foreseen when he took the job and his reign will probably be best remembered for the calm, dignified, classy manner in which he handled some difficult situations off the field.
He left by mutual agreement, and with plenty of praise for his work, but performances/results ultimately decide a manager’s future. What have you made of Wayne Rooney since he joined up at
Pride Park? Has he been helping the coaches already? How much of a chance do you think he will have of being the next full-time head coach/manager? Do you see Rooney playing on Saturday - or being in the dugout?
Wayne Rooney made an instant impact when he first arrived and his influence on the players around him, and especially the younger players, saw the Rams win six and draw two of nine matches before they lost 3-2 at Ashton Gate in midFebruary.
The skipper was also a key figure when the season restarted in June as he helped Derby record three consecutive wins to give them an outside chance of a top-six finish. However, the form of the team, and Rooney, dipped during the run-in.
A back problem in pre-season did not help him at the start of the
current campaign and he has yet to repeat the level of performance he showed at the beginning of the year, although it was his exquisite free kick that gave Derby their only league win this season away at Norwich.
He is a player-coach, and was involved in Phillip Cocu’s coaching set up, but he is a player first. He has made no secret of the fact he wants to go into coaching and management when his playing days are over. It is difficult to gauge his chances of landing the manager’s role at Derby without knowing what the prospective new owners of the club are thinking. I expect him to play against Bristol City as the team needs his quality.
Any idea on suggested line-up or formation for Saturday? Do you think there will be many changes from the loss to Barnsley?
Very difficult to answer the question because manager Phillip Cocu’s departure means a fourman team of coaches is in charge of first-team matters and preparations for Saturday’s clash. The quartet consists of specialist firstteam coach Liam Rosenior, goalkeeper coach Shay Given, firstteam development coach Justin Walker and player-coach Wayne Rooney.
What’s the injury news?
No suspensions or no injuries.
Who will be Derby County’s key man to watch out for?
Apart from a rare mistake in the last game against Barnsley, goalkeeper David Marshall has been in excellent form this season, and for Scotland also. Hopefully he won’t be too busy against Bristol City! Tom Lawrence can be a match-winner on his day, as can Wayne Rooney.