Rooney has the reins but fresh low in wretched campaign for lowly Rams
MILLERS CLIMB ABOVE DERBY IN THE BOTTOM THREE THANKS TO LATE WINNER
THIS was not the type of performance and result to invite patience at a very difficult and deeply worrying time for Derby County. Quite the opposite.
After a week of more takeover talk and headlines about players not being paid, the 1-0 home defeat by fellow Championship strugglers Rotherham United was another hammer blow in what has so far been a wretched season.
To make matters more annoying, more frustrating, Derby can offer up no excuses for this latest failure at home – a seventh in 12 League fixtures at Pride Park Stadium, of which they have won only one.
Credit to the Millers. They deserved their victory.
Derby’s display deserved what it got, nothing.
This was not how Wayne Rooney wanted his first game as the permanent manager of the Rams to go but he did not shy away in his verdict.
In using such words as “sloppy” and “concentration”, he nailed it.
“Over the 90 minutes we didn’t seem to be awake to the game,” he added.
This was the players’ first game in 15 days due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the squad leading to a period of self-isolation.
They had fitness programmes to do at home but that is not the same as working at the training ground and it showed in a rusty performance.
By contrast, Rotherham came into the contest unchanged after a confidence-boosting display in running Everton close in the FA Cup a week earlier. That was a factor but Derby should still have been capable of delivering a better show.
Rooney agreed. Asked if the performance could be put down to a difficult build-up and the 10 days of isolation for the players, he said: “You could say that, but the lads have trained really well at home over that period.
“It is not ideal, of course, but in the last few days in training they have been very good and I was expecting a good performance, a better performance than what we got.”
Rooney’s installation as interim manager at the end of November sparked a much-needed reaction and improvement but Derby have now lost three of their last four League games and two of them against teams in and around them.
It means they sit second from bottom at the halfway stage of the season. They are in the relegation zone on goal difference only as Sheffield Wednesday, who are just above the drop zone, also have 19 points, as do Rotherham, while Wycombe Wanderers have 15.
It is all very tight and there is half a season left and so time to extract themselves from trouble but a concerning statistic is that Derby have now lost to Rotherham, Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers, who are 20th on 24 points, and have been held at home by Wycombe. That is not a record to fill fans with hope.
Nor is Derby’s painful shyness in front of goal.
They remain the division’s lowest scorers with 14 in 23 games and they have managed only five at home all season.
That is an alarming stat but the writing was on the wall when they managed only one attempt on target in their opening fixture against League Two opponents Barrow in the Carabao Cup.
Not only was that a sterile performance, it was also an eye-opener and highlighted the importance of Derby adding to their attacking options and creative department.
Frustratingly, and disappointingly, that remains the case with half of the January transfer window been and gone.
Rooney says he has his transfer targets, he says he knows the players he wants to bring in. Will he be able to do so? Will it happen?
Derby are facing a crucial half a window and they cannot afford to miss the boat because the squad needs strengthening.
There was a distinct shortage of options to change things from an extremely inexperienced bench as the team stuttered and struggled against Rotherham.
Yes, Rotherham goalkeeper Jamal Blackman made a couple of smart saves to deny Graeme Shinnie and Lee Buchanan, while Kamil Jozwiak and Martyn Waghorn wasted chances.
But it was more a story of Derby being careless in possession and short of creativity. They also invited pressure by either failing to stop crosses or conceding silly free kicks, and this played to one of Rotherham’s strengths.
It was a silly free kick conceded by Jason Knight that led to the visitors’ winning goal four minutes from the end of normal time.
Daniel Barlaser’s set-piece rebounded off a post and, with Derby unable to clear, Jamie Lindsay scored from close range.
The win was the first for Rotherham at Derby in 14 attempts, since they beat the Rams 3-1 at the Baseball Ground in September 1965.
The Rolling Stones were at number one at the time with Satisfaction. There has been little satisfaction for Derby fans watching the team this season and they are worried, some angry, and understandably.
The protracted takeover is having an effect and is stretching patience to breaking point. Patience among some fans has broken. The club is in a state of limbo on and off the pitch, and this cannot continue. A conclusion is needed.
Takeovers take time and can be complex and complicated transactions, that is accepted, but the current situation needs an outcome, sooner rather than later, otherwise what is a serious situation could become even worse.
The club have said they are confident the takeover will be completed.
“We are being told there are no issues whatsoever or complications with the takeover,” CEO Stephen Pearce said on Thursday.
But still we await completion. Would this not be a good time for the prospective new owners to make a statement?
Meanwhile, on the pitch, the players need to regroup because Bournemouth visit Pride Park tomorrow night.
“That is the only positive, we have a game coming up on Tuesday and I am expecting to see a reaction to the performance (against Rotherham). I am sure there will be a reaction,” said Rooney.
He remains confident Derby can climb out of trouble.
“We have a lot of games left. I am confident in my ability and the staff’s ability and I am confident in the players’ ability to get out of this mess we are in,” he added.
“Of course, we could do with a bit of help in the next two weeks in terms of getting players in, so hopefully the takeover is done as quick as possible and it will allow us to try and bring in the players I have identified.”
Fans certainly want to see an end to the takeover saga. They are venting their feelings and would be doing so inside the ground if they were able to attend matches. Instead, some are doing it on social media, such is the modern way.
Fans need a lift because they have been put through the mill this season and they are desperate to see some light at the end of a dark tunnel.