Wayne Rooney reveals reason behind surprising Derby County decision following Bristol City defeat | OneFootball

Derby County manager Wayne Rooney has suggested that he decided to drop Kelle Roos and bring in Ryan Allsop for the Rams’ trip to Bristol City on Saturday to reward the keeper for his efforts in training.

The Rams travelled to Bristol City aiming to get back on track in the Championship after they suffered a late defeat in their previous game against QPR at home. The manner of that loss coming so late in the game against the Rs was always going to be something that could have dented Derby’s confidence and belief heading into their trip to Ashton Gate.

Rooney’s side produced a disappointing performance in the first half in particular against the Robins and in the end, that cost them the game as Nigel Pearson’s side managed to edge ahead in the opening 45 minutes. The Rams were better in the second period but they were unable to find a route back into the game and ended up falling to a second successive defeat.

One notable change to the line-up that Rooney made ahead of the game was a recall to the starting XI for Allsop. The former Wycombe Wanderers goalkeeper had previously enjoyed a promising run of form in his four successive appearances against Reading, Swansea City, Preston and Luton Town before being dropped for Roos once again.

Allsop was unable to record a clean sheet on his return to the side, but he did manage to make one important save from inside the penalty area. However, it was not a decision by Rooney that helped the Rams pick up any much-needed points.

Speaking to Derby’s official club website after the defeat at Bristol City, Rooney revealed that he felt Allsop had deserved the chance to come into the side due to his performances in training. Although he did confess that it was a difficult decision to leave out Roos from the side.

“It’s always difficult when you change your goalkeeper.

“I felt today was the right time for Ryan to play. He’s been pushing Kelle in training, pushing really hard and I feel he deserved his chance.”

The verdict

This appears to have been an attempt by Rooney to manage his squad and make Allsop believe that chances are there for him if he continues to apply himself in training. There is absolutely nothing wrong in that and it would have provided the keeper with a real spring in his step to have earned the chance to come back into the side after sitting on the bench in recent weeks.

However, the issue is that this decision could have a negative impact on Roos, who would still at this stage probably be considered to be the Rams’ first-choice goalkeeper. There have though been one or two rumours in the week that he could be set to leave the club in the near future, so maybe that had something to do with the decision from Rooney.

Allsop is a very able deputy for Roos, but out of the two keepers he seems to be the second choice and therefore it would be expected that Rooney will change his decision ahead of the coming games. Having said that Derby are in a position now where they can sort of experiment a little because the chances of them surviving the drop are slim to none.