It’s perilous for Rams as Mac watches
IT would be fascinating to know what Steve Mcclaren made of Derby County’s 3-0 defeat by Middlesbrough as he sat watching from the stand at the Riverside Stadium, writes Steve Nicholson.
Mcclaren has twice managed Derby as well as Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Queens Park Rangers and England.
He has been appointed as advisor to the board and technical director at Derby and finds the team in a perilous position at the foot of the Championship.
The club are in limbo as we await the takeover and the appointment of a new manager.
That cannot come soon enough because the situation has become urgent – and this was highlighted against Middlesbrough.
The four-man coaching team of Wayne Rooney, Liam Rosenior, Shay Given and Justin Walker put in charge of first-team matters following the departure of manager Phillip Cocu have had two games and lost both.
There was promise in the performance against Bristol City but that drifted away into a cold night on Teesside on Wednesday evening.
Cocu was on the receiving end of flak following many games this season, and the current coaching set up – along with the players – must shoulder criticism for what happened at Middlesbrough because it came close to rivalling the debacle against Blackburn Rovers in September.
Of course, many of the problems were there before the four-man team took up the reins and all coaches and managers have to start somewhere, they have to be given an opportunity to show what they can do, but situations have to be taken in account.
Where Derby find themselves at this critical point needs an experienced hand on the tiller, a fresh pair of eyes, a different voice. This is not a time for experiment.
Who should be the next manager is down to opinion, of course, but what is clear is that the prospective new owners face a huge decision. They have to get it right.