(Football news) The job Wayne Rooney is doing at Derby County is nothing short of a fairy tale. Derby have been in administration since September and the club are facing liquidation amid crippling debts and as of now no potential buyers are interested in taking over the club. The situation off the pitch is sad but on it, Rooney is doing something truly remarkable in his first-ever job as a manager.
Rooney found out Derby were heading into administration last year while he was watching Sky Sports News and had received no prior information from owner Mel Morris about the situation. Instead of choosing to walk away and knowing that Derby would be hit with a massive points deduction, Rooney made the hard choice and chose to remain at Pride Park. Eventually Derby were docked 21 points in all, 12 for entering administration and an additional nine for historical financial breaches and subsequently went to the bottom of the league with minus points in September. Fans were furious and in an attempt to keep unity, Rooney gave his personal phone number to the supporters club in an attempt to keep transparency and maintain unity in the fan base.
Funds are so low that Rooney pays for training equipment and away accommodation when needed. A lack of transfer budget has seen Rooney give 20 academy players their debut since his appointment last year, all of whom are fully committed to the cause. Rooney is certainly going an extra mile to ensure Derby have every shot in the Championship and regularly sleeps in his office to get his players ready for matches. Wayne Rooney has apparently made three different league tables in the dressing room to motivate his players even more. The original, one without the points deduction and one with the massive points deduction. Without a points deduction, Derby would be comfortably mid-table and have an outside shot at making the play-offs but now they find themselves sitting 23rd in the Championship and seven points off safety.
Administrators have forced Rooney to sell nine players during the transfer window, despite the fact he was not allowed to bring anyone into the squad. Wayne Rooney is fully committed to this project as he recently turned down the Everton job as he intends to keep Derby in the Championship till there is some solid ownership in the club. If he continues to produce results like this and do the unthinkable by keeping Derby in the Championship, then his dream job of managing Manchester United won’t be far. Wayne Rooney might not have the big CV to back his managerial career but the fact that he's playing with loanees and academy players and still managing results against the big guns in the Championship is quite a remarkable feat. A warrior on the pitch during his playing days is proving to be a warrior off the field by sustaining some dignity of such a historical club.
"I am committed to this football club. I grew up on a council estate in Liverpool. I know how tough life can be. What kind of person would I be if I went and laid on a beach for a few weeks" said Wayne Rooney, reassuring Derby fans that he was not going to walk off.
“The money has come into the club, where that goes, I don't know, but I can ask the question. I was assured before that we had the funds to go through to the end of the season and now, to me, that looks like we have proof of funds. Will that lift the transfer embargo and allow me to bring in free agents? We will have to wait and see” said Rooney.
“The club generated quite a lot of money with nine players going out. Hopefully, that can be proof of funds until the end of the season. Hopefully that means the embargo will be lifted because there are still some free agents out there. Our squad is thin and I have brought in quite a lot of money over the past month” he added.
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