Wayne Rooney given interim role at Derby after Cocu dismissal
Phillip Cocu’s time in charge of Derby County has come to an end, with Wayne Rooney being part of the coaching team that will take charge at Pride Park on an interim basis.
The former England international has been working as a player-coach but could see his responsibilities increase somewhat following this news.
All we know for certain at the moment is that Cocu has been shown the door after an abysmal start to the season in the Championship. The Rams currently sit rock bottom of the table, having picked up just six of a possible 33 points available.
The former PSV Eindhoven and Fenerbahce coach, who took over at Derby from Frank Lampard after his departure for Chelsea, leaves the club with a record of 22 victories, 17 draws and 26 defeats in 65 games.
Derby thanked Cocu and his staff for their work with the youth squads and their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The club would like to place on record its appreciation for the way Phillip and his staff conducted themselves in what were some extremely challenging situations during his tenure,” the statement read.
“Phillip and his staff helped develop and establish a considerable number of academy players into the first-team squad and Phillip made significant financial contributions and personal efforts towards the club’s community projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the club are extremely grateful for.
“Derby County wishes to thank Phillip, Chris [van der Weerden, Cocu’s assistant] and Twan [Scheepers, a first-team coach] for their hard work and dedication over the last 16 months and wish them every success in their future careers.
“The club will provide further updates when appropriate and will be making no further comment in the meantime.”
Rooney has working for a while to make the move in to coaching, so his appointment doesn’t come as a surprise. His ex-England teammate Jamie Carragher has tipped him to get the job on a full-time basis.
“There’s no doubt for me that he’ll be the next Derby County coach,” said Carragher on the radio station TalkSPORT. “It’s one of the main reasons he came to the club.”
The club, however, are refusing to comment on the matter. Since arriving at Derby in January 2020, Rooney has scored seven goals in 33 games for the club. If he does become player-head coach, having previously just been player-coach, he will be filling a role which is quite uncommon in modern day football.
He’ll be joining many famous footballing names who have also taken up the position, such as Graeme Souness, Ryan Giggs, Gianluca Vialli, Kenny Dalgish, John Toshack and Glenn Hoddle
