Football journalist and podcaster George Elek has been sharing his thoughts on the current managerial situation at Derby County.
This comes after Elek recently made an appearance on The Totally Football League Show, where he spoke about a range of topics concerning a variety of EFL clubs at this moment in time.
On the topic of Derby and their current managerial situation after having sacked Phillip Cocu and then having a four-man interim coaching team of Wayne Rooney, Justin Walker, Liam Rosenior and Shay Given take charge, for the time being, Elek had this to say on the club’s search for a new permanent manager.
He said: “I don’t know about you, but I struggle to see Sam Allardyce or Rafa Benitez or even John Gregory working under the watchful eye of Steve McClaren. You have to assume if this is going to be a long-term appointment, the likes of [John] Terry, of Rooney, possibly of Rosenior, are the ones who are likely to get the job, but on the basis of what we saw [against Middlesbrough], you’d have to think that Wayne Rooney’s chances of getting this job probably hinge on this game. It’s unlikely in my opinion, to see him appointed after failing to beat Wycombe Wanderers.”
As Elek mentioned in the podcast, Derby recently appointed former Rams manager Steve McClaren as their technical director and board advisor.
Derby’s first game under their current interim management team saw them lose 1-0 to Bristol City before then losing 3-0 to Middlesbrough in midweek.
Should Derby appoint Wayne Rooney as their new manager?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on George Elek’s comments on Derby’s managerial situation…
With Derby having lost both of their Championship games since Cocu left the club, it would make sense, in our view, if Rooney is not given the role of permanent manager at Pride Park, if the club fails to get a result against Wycombe at the weekend, despite his interest in the vacant position.
If Derby can manage to get a win against Wycombe, you would imagine it would only improve Rooney’s chances of being given the role of permanent manager.
Given how Rooney managed to earn himself a poor match rating of 6.42/10 for his performance in midweek against Middlesbrough, maybe having him in the dugout as their main manager instead would be more beneficial to the team than having him play for Derby on the pitch.