THE NEW ROONEY RULE
Wayne the manager vows he will stay calm and restrict his screaming to when it has most effect
His playing career has been loud enough, both on and off the pitch, but as a gaffer he looks like being completely different.
Rooney said: “I will have a go when the time is right but don’t expect me to be screaming my head off for 90 minutes.”
So, no Jose Mourinho slides down the pitch like the Special One.
No Fergie fury. No Warnock rants. Not even like a frustrated Wenger trying to get the zip of his coat working properly. Rooney was Zen calm. He patrolled the edges of his technical area quietly. He pulled over Colin Kazim-Richards, who had an impressive full debut, at one point for a chat. But there were plenty to give advice.
There were the three remaining coaches on the Derby bench from the dismantled four- man management committee.
Behind Rooney, sitting in the stand, were the three wise men – current owner Mel Morris, chief executive Stephen Pearce and new technical director Steve McClaren.
Rooney could have done with a couple of cuts men in his corner when Wycombe sent on big bruiser Adebayo Akinfenwa and they started knocking Derby about.
“I will make decisions, I’ve no problem with that. I think you saw that with seven changes for this game,” said Rooney.
“Sometimes you can stand on the line and you can scream all day, but there comes a point where the players lose interest in that.
“Everyone is different but for me, if I’m going to start screaming or shouting at someone, I need to do it at the right time when it has impact.
“I’ve mellowed down a little bit since I was young.”
Rooney, 35, and ready to put his boots away for management, does not know whether he will be boss for just one more game – tomorrow at home to Coventry – get a good run at it, be handed a new contract or simply be binned. Everything depends on the £ 60million takeover by Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan which has been promised now for a month.
“It wasn’t a good game to watch,” admitted Rooney, and he was right.
Duane Holmes (above) put Derby ahead in the reshaped Rooney team that scrapped the multi-passing style of sacked Phillip Cocu and was more direct and aggressive.
Akinfenwa, 38, got in the ring though and shook it all up, substitute Matthew Bloomfield (inset, above) prodding in an equaliser to leave Derby bottom of the Championship without a win in 10 games.
Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth has the same job as Rooney – to avoid relegation. He said: “For Wycombe to get a point away to Derby County is massive. But I don’t expect Derby to be in the bottom three at the end of the season.”
DERBY: Marshall 6, Wisdom 6, Davies 7, Clarke 7, Forsyth 6, Shinnie 6, Evans 6 (Stretton 89), Holmes 6 (Knight 67, 5), Sibley 6 (Jozwiak 77, 5), Lawrence 6, Kazim-Richards 8
WYCOMBE: Allsop 7, Grimmer 6, Knight 6, Stewart 6, Jacobson 6, Thompson 5 (Pattison 17, 6), Adeniran 6 (Onyedinma 73, 6), Horgan 7 (Wheeler 90), McCleary 7, Mehmeti 6 (Bloomfield 45, 5), Kashket 6 (Akinfenwa 45, 7)