Wayne Rooney has reiterated his desire to take the Derby manager role and insists he can combine it effectively alongside being the club’s captain.
Wayne Rooney has revealed he is doing a lot behind the scenes since becoming the spearhead of a four-man interim management team at Derby.
The ex-United man is currently collaborating in a foursome with coaches Liam Rosenior, Shay Given and Justin Walker to lead training and decide team selection following Philip Cocu’s dismissal.
Rooney has already expressed his desire to take the Derby job full-time but reports say Derby will not make a decision until the takeover by Abu Dhabi royal family member Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan is completed.
The impending deal should be finalised by the end of the month and has been approved by the English Football League.
Once again, Rooney has reiterated he has all it takes to combine coaching and playing duties to good effect.
“I wouldn’t be sat here if I didn’t think I was ready to take it on,” Rooney told a press conference on Monday.”
“There’s a lot more to the role than preparing the team.”
“I have to do a lot of things behind the scenes and I am comfortable and fine doing that.”
“We did all the prep on Friday evening and after the last meeting I focused solely on being a player. I need to be fair to myself, the player. To be fair I’m pretty good at switching off when I need to.”
Asked if he would continue his playing career at the age of 35 if he were to be given the manager’s job, Rooney replied: “That isn’t even on the table at the minute.
“I need to focus on playing and preparing the team so I don’t have time to focus on anything else like that. I’ve not been given any idea as to how long the other three coaches will be in these roles.”
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