Former Manchester United and England international striker Wayne Rooney has been appointed as Derby’s permanent manager which brings an end to his playing career.
Rooney retires from playing football after he was appointed the permanent manager as he the 35 years old remains the all-time leading goal scorer for both Manchester United and England.
Rooney has been Derby’s interim manager since the end of November, but has now taken the job permanently on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
Rooney said: “When I first arrived back in the United Kingdom I was completely blown away by the potential of Derby County Football Club. The stadium, training ground, the quality of the playing staff and the young players coming through and of course the fan base that has remained loyal and supportive.”
“Despite other offers, I knew instinctively Derby County was the place for me.”
“To be given the opportunity to follow the likes of Brian Clough, Jim Smith, Frank Lampard and Phillip Cocu is such an honour and I can promise everyone involved in the club and all our fans, my staff and I will leave no stone unturned in achieving the potential I have witnessed over the last 12 months of this historic football club.”
The decision to assign Wayne Rooney as the permanent managerwas made jointly by Derby’s current owner, Mel Morris, and the prospective owner Sheikh Khaled.
Liam Rosenior, Shay Given, and Justin Walker will retain their positions on Rooney’s coaching staff. while Steve McClaren will continue the duties of technical director and advisor to the board of directors.
Derby CEO Stephen Pearce said: “We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Wayne Rooney as our new manager.
“Our recent upturn in results under Wayne was married together with some positive performances, notably the 2-0 home win over Swansea City and the 4-0 victory at Birmingham City.
“During that nine-game run we also dramatically improved their defensive record and registered five clean sheets in the process, while in the attacking third we became more effective and ruthless too.”
“Those foundations have provided a platform for the club to build on in the second half of the season under Wayne’s guidance.”
Rooney’s first game as permanent manager will be at home to Rotherham at Pride Park on Saturday.
When asked if he was setting any targets, he said: “I think first of all we just have to take it game by game.
“It’s what we’ve been doing over the last couple of months and I don’t think there’s any need to change what we’ve been doing in terms of our preparation.”
“In terms of our day-to-day business [that] will stay the same.”
“It’s great for them to have some clarity on who the boss is full-time, so I think it’s a big moment in the season for us at the football club.”
Rooney also talked about bring new players to the club “At the minute I need to put players forward who I would like to bring in.
“If that’s doable, great, if not I have got different plans on different ways of working in the transfer window.”
“I think, as everybody knows, the last week of the transfer window in January is very important.”
“So I’ve got plans in place which I’ve had in place for the last few weeks – if we can get some of those players in towards the end of January, then that would be great.”
