Former Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney will be in sole charge of Derby County this weekend as he takes his first steps in management.
Rooney, a player-coach at Derby, has shared responsibility of the first team since Phillip Cocu was sacked earlier this month.
The veteran forward was joined by Liam Rosenior, Shay Given and Justin Walker in the coaching set-up, but the Rams lost at both Bristol City and Middlesbrough without scoring.
Hindered by a points deduction, Derby are bottom of the Championship table, six points shy of safety and winless in nine.
With a takeover imminent, the club have made a change, promoting Rooney in a decision the new interim coach hopes will provide “clarity”.
Rooney, who will not play at home against Wycombe on Saturday, revealed technical director and former England boss Steve McClaren – returning to Derby this week – was “part of that conversation”.
“For the two previous games, the four of us did it together, preparing the team and picking the team together,” Rooney said.
“We felt that it needed one voice, one person to do that and make the decisions on the team, the starting team and obviously the subs coming into the game.
“We felt I felt I was the right man for that. That’s where we’re at.
“It’s obviously exciting for me to do that. Management is something I’ve always said I wanted to go into. It’s an opportunity for me to try to pick the right team to get us a positive result.”
Wayne also mentioned the positive aspect of bringing Steve McClaren back to Pride Park.
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