ROO-SENIOR
Liam: I still speak to Wayne... I’ve got big shoes to fill but I will lead the Rams my way
BY
LIAM ROSENIOR laughs a lot for man who has just taken charge of a club whose first name is crisis.
Derby have been to the brink yet will step out in front of a 30,000plus crowd at home to Oxford United today, as the man who replaced Wayne Rooney tries to steer the battered Rams out of League One at the first time of asking.
The 38-year-old realises the size of the task but grins from ear to ear with pride and anticipation.
Watching from the stand will be his dad Leroy, who managed to be at the centre of something even more ridiculous than Derby have come up with.
The former West Ham and QPR star will be egging on his boy but will not be asked for any tips, with Rosenior Jnr chuckling: “I can’t ask for advice from a man who got sacked after
10 minutes and is in the Guinness
Book of Records.”
His dad does indeed have the shortest reign of a manager in English football, having been appointed Torquay boss just as the club was being taken over by a consortium in 2007.
The press conference had only just been completed when Rosenior (below right) was heading for the exit door.
His son grew up in that environment and said: “It’s a job which you’re thinking about 24/7. I’ve seen my own father go through it. But that’s why I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Rosenior is the man who stood alongside Rooney (both below left) through administration, failed takeovers, points deductions and eventual relegation.
He is closer to Rooney, now boss of MLS club DC United, than some might imagine and said: “I’ve got big shoes to fill.
“I still speak to Wayne. Last time we spoke was a few days ago, just to catch up as friends and see
how he’s doing as much as anything. I’ll do it in my own way but Wayne was huge for the fans, huge for the staff in being strong in a time of adversity.
“I built up a good relationship with him. Sometimes we have conversations that are nothing to do with football. We’re both rooting for each other to do well.
“He still asks about the lads in training. What’s the new player looking like? What’s so-and-so looking like? That’s because he cares about the club.
“Just because he decided to leave, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.”
Rosenior acknowledges the “dark days” when the club looked like going to the wall and says it is a motivation for just getting out and playing again.
“A lot of the players we have signed could have gone to other clubs higher in the league and for more money but they want to be part of this,” said Rosenior.
“I’ve good players who are here for the right reasons. There are big expectations but that’s what comes with a club of this size and with its history.
“The demands of that dictates we should be in the play-offs and I’m happy to say that.”