3/1 To Win
Phillip Cocu has confirmed that Wayne Rooney will be in the Derby County dugout for this weekend’s home fixture against Queens Park Rangers in the Sky Bet Championship.
It was confirmed earlier this week that the former England and Manchester United legend will be at Pride Park Stadium for Derby’s clash with the R’s on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off).
As well as penning a playing contract with Derby from January 2020, Rooney will join the club as a coach and continue to develop his coaching credentials in preparation for a potential managerial career.
Rooney, who agreed to join the Rams from Major League Soccer side DC United back in August, and the excitement has been building amongst supporters ahead of his official arrival.
Speaking in the lead-up to this weekend’s match with Mark Warburton’s side, Cocu has confirmed that Rooney will join himself and the rest of the coaching staff in the dugout.
Before that, of course, Rooney will be introduced to the Rams’ supporters at 2:50pm and supporters are encouraged to be in their seats in plenty of time to ensure they provide the 34-year-old with a warm Pride Park welcome.
Speaking to RamsTV about Rooney’s involvement this weekend, Cocu said: “Wayne will not be playing, that is for sure!
“He will be on the bench, just close to myself and coach Chris van der Weerden.
“Wayne will be involved and in contact with us in the game about what he sees and get him on the tactics and connected with the team and the staff.
“I am happy he is with us at the game on Saturday. It is good for him too, however he cannot play but in the dugout he can get involved in the team process and coaching.
“In the future when he starts playing he will be very important for us coaches to be the link up in what we want and a leader on the pitch.”
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