"I think Paul Warne’s time is up" - David Clowes urged to make big Derby County decision | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has given his verdict on Paul Warne's future at the club

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Paul Warne is coming under increasing pressure at Derby County following a poor run of form.

The Rams find themselves in the mix of a relegation battle in the Championship, with the team sitting 19th in the table.

Four defeats in a row have left the club just one point clear of Portsmouth in 22nd in the table after 27 games played.

Derby are back in the Championship after coming second in League One last season, and their aim will be to maintain their place in the division beyond one year.

Paul Warne's future at Derby County

When asked about Warne’s future, FLW’s Derby fan pundit Shaun Woodward claimed that it’s time to make the hard decision to part ways with the manager.

He believes the team is out of ideas and lacks the confidence to turn things around, highlighting Warne’s style of play as a real issue.

“I’ve always tried to remain level-headed and not just on the bandwagon too soon, but I’ve got to be honest it’s looking really tough for us now,” Woodward told Football League World.

“I think Paul Warne’s time is up at Derby.

“He did an amazing job last season to get us promoted, and I thank him for that, but his style of play is so hard to watch, so when you’re not winning it makes it even worse because you can’t even see there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or there’s a plan in place to progress the team.

“It’s hard to watch, there’s no plan b, it’s more lump it to the big man — which we don’t have — cross it in, hopefully we’ll get a set piece, a corner, a header and if that doesn’t work then we just struggle to know what else to do.

“The players are lost out there, they’re lacking understanding, identity.

“They look shot, there’s no confidence in the team.”

Financial concern of relegation for Derby

Woodward raised the concern of the impact relegation to League One would have on the club’s finances, suggesting money might need to be spent now in order to avoid the longer-term loss of income for owner David Clowes.

“I listened to some of Paul Warne’s interviews as well, he looks like a beaten man and I think David Clowes has got a really hard couple of weeks ahead of him because does he chuck the money at it and keep Paul Warne? Because he can’t really afford to go down, the money we’d lose from being in the Championship is massive,” he added.

“But, at the same time, can he afford to pay for Paul Warne’s contract? It’s a really difficult one.

“But, for me, Paul Warne needs to go, we need to bring someone in because that first two, three weeks lift you get with a new manager might be the difference between us staying up or going down.

“So I think David Clowes needs to act now, and he needs to act fast, so someone has money in the transfer window.

“Difficult decision, but Paul Warne has to go.

“Thank him for all he’s done, but his time’s up.”

Big decision ahead for Clowes

Clowes has done well since taking over Derby in 2022, and the appointment of Warne has worked well to re-establish the club in the Championship.

But now a big decision needs to be made, and quickly, over what to do with the manager’s future.

Backing him in the transfer window could be a total disaster if it doesn’t work, but so could bringing in a new manager that doesn’t improve the team’s form.

However, those are the risks of football ownership, and a change in manager would be the more sensible option at this stage if supporters have already turned on Warne.