Rooney’s plans all in place – but staying up is still the real target
MANAGER KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS TO DO IN SUMMER – BUT IT’S FIRST THINGS FIRST
WAYNE Rooney’s focus remains firmly on making sure Derby County continue to move clear of the Championship’s bottom three.
Derby sat bottom on six points from 13 games when Rooney stepped up as interim manager following Phillip Cocu’s departure.
Rooney’s appointment was made permanent in January and in the 18 games he has been in sole charge, the Rams have a 50% win rate – nine wins, four draws and five defeats.
The 31 points from 54 have lifted the team to 37 points and they sit 18th with 15 League games left. The gap between themselves and the relegation places is eight points.
Derby beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday night to record a sixth win in eight matches but at the same time as making sure the Rams keep pushthe ing forward this season, Rooney is already putting plans in place for the summer and for next season. How advanced are those plans? “There are plans I am working on continuously, obviously they can be adjusted for different things,” said Rooney.
“We have to take into account that we are still in the middle of a pandemic, so I know I have to be flexible with plans I am putting in place, whether that is on targets to come in and join us or players to leave; also pre-season training
“I have them in place, they are ready to go.”
A number of players are out of contract this summer, including Andre Wisdom, Colin Kazimrichards and Martyn Waghorn, who all featured in the win against Huddersfield. Also, Derby have six players on loan who will be due to return to their parent clubs at the end of the season. It means the squad will need to be reshaped.
Asked if he had a points tally for this season in mind, Rooney replied: “We can’t afford to get into putting targets on things.
“We know the main target for us, certainly for this season, is to stay in division and we have given ourselves every chance of doing that but I couldn’t sit here and say we want 50, 60, 70 points.
“We have to just assess each game as it comes and we will end up where we deserve to finish.”
Meanwhile, Waghorn has said he is sure the Rams are heading in the right direction under Rooney.
Waghorn came off the bench and scored in Tuesday night’s 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town at Pride Park Stadium.
It was his 100th career League goal and the striker, later interviewed by Talksport, was quick to praise his manager.
“He’s given us a lot more selfbelief to go out and enjoy ourselves,” he said.
“I know it’s difficult at times because each game is different but he’s just given us belief that we are solid at the back and if we keep teams out, then we have the freedom up front.
“We could be more expressive at times, because ideally you want to win by three, four or five goals every game, but it doesn’t always work like that.
“He’s just given us the self-belief, to work hard for each other and go and have fun when we play football.
“When the manager first came in, we were doing a lot of stuff together.
“Everyone learned so much from him.
“It’s a bit more difficult at the moment when the games come so thick and fast but his knowledge and when he talks to you, you’ve got to listen because he hasn’t done too badly in his career, has he?
“When he first came in, he outlined his intentions that he wants to win games, whether that’s making big decisions or substitutions, and he’s not afraid to do it because he wants to win games.
“That’s clear to us all in the dressing room. We know what he wants to do, so we’re all on board with that.”
We can’t afford to get into putting targets on things. We know the main target is to stay in this division. Wayne Rooney