Wayne Rooney has praised Derby County’s players for the way they have concluded themselves on and off the pitch in testing circumstances during the 2021/22 season.
Derby have bravely fought against the odds throughout the campaign to remain in the Sky Bet Championship whilst facing up to a great deal of adversity off the field.
The club entered administration in September, resulting in a 12-point deduction, while in November a further nine points were taken off their season’s total for a historical breach of profitability and sustainability rules.
Derby have lost several players from their squad over the course of the season but, despite the challenges that have been thrown at them, the Rams have displayed a great deal of fight on the pitch.
Plenty of passion has been displayed in the stands with the club’s supporters playing a key role in backing Derby to the hilt.
With six games left to play the Rams are nine points adrift of safety but, after being written off many times in the last year, Rooney has stressed that the focus should be on what impact his side can make on the pitch and the positives that have come from the campaign.
Next up for Rooney’s side is a trip to Swansea City on Saturday (3pm kick-off) and no matter what the outcome in the next few weeks, Rooney has nothing but praise for his squad.
“I think we know what we have to do, and we’ve known what we have to do for some time, with six games left,” Rooney told RamsTV.
“All we have to do is focus on the next game, which is a tough one against Swansea on Saturday, and that’s what we’ll do. We’ll keep focusing on that, try to pick up three points and we know it’s going to be a challenge.
“I’ve said all season that I’m extremely proud of the players and how they have handled the whole situation. This isn’t just a one-off thing where you are hit with the deduction of 21 points, there have been different issues throughout the season and the players have had to deal with that and cope with it.
“They have put in performances, so I am really proud of them and how they have handled themselves. We have six games left to make sure we continue that, work hard and try to pick up as many points we can so we will see where we are at the end of the season.”
He added: “We have prepared well, the team have trained well this week and we will go into the game trying to get three points. Nothing changes in terms of the preparations; we have analysed Swansea, worked out how we want to play against them and we will do all we can to get the win.”
After being in administration since the back end of September, it was announced by the club’s administrators on Wednesday morning that American businessman Chris Kirchner has been named as the preferred bidder to purchase Derby County Football Club.
While plenty of work is required to ensure the deal is concluded further down the line, Rooney believes the news is a significant step in securing the long-term future of the club.
Rooney has, on several occasions over the course of the season, spoken about his desire to play his part in moving the club forward from their recent troubles.
“I’m delighted,” Rooney said when asked about the positive news. “It’s what I’ve been asking for a long time, as have the fans, staff and players. We are all really positive and it’s a step in the right direction. There is still a bit of work to get it over the line but it’s a real positive step.
“Chris had a bid in during December, which wasn’t accepted for whatever reason, but thankfully he’s put another bid in now which has been accepted. It’s basically getting the plans together which I have got in place, but we have had to adjust them a little bit because we’ve lost players since I put those plans together in December.”
He concluded: “The positive news is that we’ve got somebody in there that wants to take over the club, wants to invest in Derby County and that’s the positive news. Sitting here last week, we didn’t know what direction or future the club had but now it looks as if there is a positive future and we all have to work extremely hard to ensure we rebuild the club.”