Rooney primed for new chapter
Coaching badge first step on management ladder Record goalscorer eyes playing return at Derby
Wayne Rooney is England and Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer, and the greatest player from the past decade to play for his country, but all he is thinking about is Barnsley.
Rooney is counting the days until making his return to English football, after signing an 18-month deal with Derby County, and that date of Jan 2 cannot come quickly enough.
The latest chapter in a decorated career takes him to the Championship, where he will combine roles as a player-coach, and he is determined eventually to follow in the footsteps of former England teammates Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard by going into management.
But, for now, Rooney is fully focused on extending his playing career at the age of 34 and helping to fire Derby towards a promotion challenge under Phillip Cocu.
“I can’t wait to get going. It’s a bit frustrating doing the training through the week and not being able to play,” he said yesterday. “I feel physically good even though
I’m not the player I was in my twenties. It’s a bit different now, I need my coffee in the morning. The minute my body says I can’t do it, I will stop playing.
“It’s a new challenge for me, in a different league I’ve never played in. It’s something which excites me, I want to get out there and play, to try and push us up that table.”
Rooney’s return to England comes after 18 months in the United States with DC United, and this feels like the final act of a wonderful career which started at the age of 16 with his beloved Everton.
He moved to Manchester United, where he won the Premier League five times, the Champions League, the FA Cup and three League Cups.
With England, he scored 53 goals in 120 games, though trophies eluded that talented generation, with Rooney at the forefront.
The man who has not played in England since April 2018 is eligible to play from Jan 2, when struggling Barnsley visit Pride Park.
“It seems like yesterday that I made my debut for Everton,” he said. “I always remember getting in the team and Alan Stubbs said, ‘Make sure you enjoy it because it does go quick.’ I remember being 16 or 17, and just thinking, ‘You’re saying that because you are old.’
“I’m at that stage now, and it does go quick. It’s good advice because in football we all play it obviously to win, but to enjoy it, and sometimes that gets lost in the game.”
Rooney is already a popular figure in the dressing room after starting training at the end of last month. He has watched recordings of every Derby game and he was quick to offer support to Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett, over the phone, after they were charged with drinkdriving in September.
He is well down the road with his coaching badges and will start his A Licence with the Football Association after Christmas.
“Ideally I want to get into management and be successful. When I was at Manchester United I used to go in a lot with Ryan Giggs and sit there and analyse opposition. I have a knowledge of the game and hopefully I can do well,” he said.
“It’s brilliant to see what Frank and Stevie have done. There has been a lack of young former England players going into management over the last 15 years. It’s something I have always wanted to do when I stopped playing.”
Rooney’s new club are 16th in the Championship and their best hope of promotion now appears to be via the play-offs. But he is refusing to give up on a potential return to the division where he scorched an unforgettable trail.
“I’ve lost a Premier League title with four games to go and being seven points clear, so there’s still plenty of points to play for,” he said.
“We are not sitting in a position where we want to be, but we are not too far from the play-offs.
“In the new year, anything can happen in this league.”