Rams need to hit reset button, here are five areas to address
INTERNATIONAL BREAK GIVES ROONEY CHANCE TO GET HIS SIDE BACK ON TRACK IN LEAGUE
WAYNE Rooney will reassess his Derby County team and players during the international break following the deflating performance and defeat by Stoke City.
The Rams are stuck in a sevenmatch winless rut and treading water five points above the Championship relegation zone.
“Obviously, the run of form over the last few weeks has not been good enough. We know, if we did not know beforehand, we are in a relegation battle,” said Rooney.
Derby have eight games remaining and they are next in action when they face Luton Town at Pride Park Stadium on Friday, April 2.
Before then the reset button needs to be hit and a number of things need to happen.
■■DERBY NEED KEY STRIKER FIT AND FIRING
Colin Kazim-Richards was the talisman during the run of five wins in six matches in January and February that lifted Derby out of the bottom three.
He scored three goals in those games, including winners against Queens Park Rangers and Bristol City.
He also hit a stunning goal in the 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough after which Boro boss Neil Warnock said: “Up front we were like a damp squib today, nothing at all was happening. I think if we’d had (Colin) KazimRichards today we would have won the game.”
Kazim-Richards has been struggling with a nagging hip problem of late, Rooney confirmed ahead of the Stoke game.
He had an injection and played 63 minutes of the Championship fixture at the bet365 Stadium but he looked hampered by the injury and was unable to compete as he normally does.
Derby need him back fit and firing, and being the influential figure he was within the team.
When he is at his best, when strong and vocal and occupying opposition defenders, Derby’s shape works better.
■■DERBY NEED TO FIND A WINNING SHAPE AND PERSONNEL
When wins are elusive, as they are for Derby, the usual response is to go back to basics and be consistent in team selection and formation.
Wayne Rooney has shown he is not afraid to make changes but managers can tinker too much at times. Things need to be more settled for the run-in.
Having said that, the players have not helped Rooney. How many of them can say their performances in the past month demand they start games?
Changes had to be made after the poor displays against Cardiff City, Coventry City and Millwall, and in the first half against Brentford.
The performance at Stoke was also poor and so the search for a starting 11 and the shape that best suits that 11 goes on.
Managers and coaches should take the opponents into account when preparing for games. There is absolutely nothing wrong in that and it would be an oversight if that did not happen.
Asked ahead of the Stoke game if he is looking for a consistent way of playing and consistent team selection or will he continue to go about it on a game-by-game basis, Rooney said: “I think for any manager you want to try and have a consistent team, but different circumstances mean you have to change it, sometimes you have to play a different way.
“I spoke a couple of weeks ago about my philosophy.
“My philosophy at the minute is the next game, it is finding a way to win that next game.”
■■DERBY NEED TO FIND A CREATIVE SPARK AND SHARPEN THEIR CUTTING EDGE
A record of 27 goals in 38 League games is the second-worst in the Championship.
Only bottom club Wycombe Wanderers, 25, have scored fewer.
The Rams have failed to score in five of their last six games and in 20 of their 38.
It is a staggeringly poor return and tells us why they have struggled for wins and why they have been in the bottom half of the table all season.
There was nowhere near enough threat to Stoke’s goal on Saturday.
Derby failed to register an effort on target and they have managed only 10 attempts on target in their
last six matches, scoring only two goals.
They have to find a way of being more creative which will lead to more goals, hopefully.
Wayne Rooney says he is asking players to play on the front foot.
“My message to the players constantly is be brave, be prepared to make mistakes because if you don’t, you’ll never score, you’ll never progress,” said Rooney.
“We saw in the second half against Brentford that if you are willing to do that then you will be more creative and will score more goals.”
■■DERBY NEED TO FIND A WAY TO HALT WORRYING WINLESS RUN
This is obvious but Wayne Rooney and his coaches have to use this twoweek break to look back, not just at the Stoke game, but at the last seven matches for reasons behind the slump.
What has changed from the run of five wins in six games?
What characteristics did the players display in those fixtures that have been absent of late?
Is it mentality? Is it attitude? You can look at the opposition faced in the runs of results being discussed but there is not a lot of difference.
Three of the five wins in six games came against teams in the top half, while Derby have faced five teams currently in the top half in the sevenmatch winless sequence.
Derby need a win because they are in a scrap for points.
■■DERBY NEED TO REDISCOVER THEIR MISERLY STREAK
The Rams showed early in Wayne Rooney’s time in sole charge of the team that they are capable of keeping clean sheets.
They kept eight in 11 League games through December and January, and conceded only three goals.
Six of those eight shut-outs came against teams currently in the top half of the table, including Swansea City and Brentford who are in the top six.
Derby have managed only one clean sheet in their current winless run.