COLLYMORE HAS DOUBTS ABOUT ROO IN HOT SEAT
FORMER Nottingham Forest striker Stan Collymore has offered his verdict on the current managerial vacancy at Derby County.
Phillip Cocu left the Rams on Saturday by mutual agreement with the club bottom of the Championship table after 11 League games with only one win to show for their efforts this season.
Player-coach Wayne Rooney has been put in interim charge with first-team coaches Justin Walker and Liam Rosenior assisting him, alongside goalkeeper coach Shay Given.
The Rams are back in action for the trip to Bristol City on Saturday and Rooney, Rosenior, Walker and Given could be in charge for a while with a new manager set to be appointed once a takeover by Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan is completed.
Rooney, who was on the coaching staff before Cocu’s departure, has been backed to take the reins at Pride Park, with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher tipping him for the Rams job before Saturday’s announcement.
Collymore, though, isn’t convinced but would like it to work out for England legend Rooney’s sake as he looks to launch his managerial career.
Writing in the Mirror, he said: “As a manager, though, I’m struggling to see it ... unless he surrounds himself with absolutely the right people to bounce off.
“Players, owners and, most
crucially, supporters can make or break you over a poorly-executed press conference, let alone what happens on the pitch. And my concern for Rooney as a manager is that it wouldn’t take long for something to erupt in one of those areas.
“So, cards on the table, I’m sceptical about whether he’ll make a good boss for Derby if the club’s prospective new owner does hand him the reins on a permanent basis.
“But despite that, and despite the fact I will forever be a proud Red Dog, in the past day or so I’ve started to change my mind and would love to see him prove me wrong.”