Wayne Rooney sets sights on role as Derby County's full-time manager following Phillip Cocu exit
ByReuters
Updated 20/11/2020 at 09:23 GMT
Rooney is seeking to move into management on a permanent basis, following in the footsteps of former England team mates Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. The former Manchester United forward is in temporary charge following the departure of Phillip Cocu earlier in November
Derby County's Wayne Rooney says he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Frank Lampard and take charge of the club.
Rooney is part of a four-man coaching team that will lead Derby for Saturday's league game at Bristol City after the Midlands club parted ways with Phillip Cocu last week.
Lampard was appointed Derby coach in the summer of 2018 and guided them to the Championship playoffs before taking the reins at Chelsea.
"I wouldn't be an ambitious person if I sat here and said I didn't want the job," Rooney, 35, told reporters.
We all come into this game to play football and then you have a decision to make: do you want to go into coaching or management? I've made it quite clear over the last few years that my ambition is to go into management, especially when you see the likes of Steven Gerrard, Lampard and Scott Parker all getting good jobs and doing really well at it. We have to get the next two or three games out the way first, but if they go well it puts me in a better position to put our names forward for that role.
Rooney, who has served as player-coach at Derby since arriving in January, said he is not far away from calling time on his playing career.
"I'm not in the twilight of my career any more. I've got my toes in both dressing rooms, one as a player and one trying to help lead the team. We'll see where this takes us," the former Manchester United and England striker said.
Join 3M+ users on app
Download
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement