Great job so far but Roo facing new pressure
MARK Stallard says Wayne Rooney has done a brilliant job at Derby County but believes he will face a significant sea change in expectation next season.
With American businessman Chris Kirchner closing in on a takeover, the Rams are preparing to welcome a new era with cautious optimism after suffering one of the darkest chapters in their history.
Rooney has a huge summer rebuilding job ahead of him with only six players contracted to the club for next season in League One.
But it is hoped the Rams can make a swift return to the Championship once Rooney is free to make signings and released from the financial handcuffs that restricted him last season.
However, former Rams striker and Derby fan Stallard says Rooney should be prepared for the fans demanding success once Kirchner’s arrival is confirmed.
“For the challenges that he’s had to face, as I see it, he’s done brilliantly when you consider it is his first job as manager and he had his hands tied behind his back,” said Stallard.
“He has done brilliantly for Derby to even push it as far as they did last season with a 21-point deduction.
“He wasn’t able to sign anybody and then had players leaving halfway through the season, like Phil Jagielka.
“He’s done unbelievably well. When I first started watching Derby in the Bobby Davison and Jeff Chandler days, Derby fans will remember, they were in what was the old third division, which is now League One.
“But it’s a long time since they’ve been at that level.
“The expectation is the one thing that will suddenly change when the takeover is done.
“Once they’ve got players and are 10 to 12 games into the season, all of a sudden expectation will be there.
“There will be different sorts of pressure rather than swimming against the tide with a 21-point deduction in the Championship.
“All of a sudden, next season he might be up against ‘we need to be up at the top of the table, we need to be pushing for promotion.’
“You know what football is like, fans want success instantly.
“They want promotion, now, not next year or the year after. So there’ll be a sea change in terms of the mentality of Derby fans wanting success.
“The club are way too big for League One. But there are big clubs in there.
“Sunderland have been in there but just got out of it but it’s took them about three or four years to do so. You look at the likes of Portsmouth and Ipswich Town, too.
“You haven’t got a God given right to get out of it.
But that will be the difference in terms of this season, when nobody expected anything.
“The fact they gave themselves a fighting chance last season was brilliant but when the takeover is done, expectations change, and things shift.
“All of a sudden, you’ve got to deal with that pressure.”