What Wayne Rooney first said when he joined Derby County - He couldn't deliver Rams target | OneFootball

Football League World takes a look at Wayne Rooney's first words after joining the Rams and his time with the club.

In August 2019, Derby County were preparing for their first game of the Phillip Cocu era as they travelled to West Yorkshire to face Huddersfield Town on the Monday evening of the opening weekend.

It was a season of unknown for the Rams following Frank Lampard's departure to Chelsea, but as supporters made the journey north on that warm summer night, rumours started to spread about Wayne Rooney joining the club.

The England and Manchester United legend had spent the last couple of years in the USA with DC United, but he was looking to return to his home country and the East Midlands was to be his destination as he put pen-to-paper on an initial 18-month deal that would start in January 2020.

Derby had just beaten the Terriers 2-1, but what started as an exciting new era, would soon spiral into three years of chaos with their then-new signing one of several focal points.

What Rooney first said as a Derby player after signing in August 2019

Rooney faced the media the day after the Rams' win, and he was clear about the role he was going to play - with his main focus being on the pitch, while also gaining experience on the coaching side of the game.

He had one early goal with the club, a target that, while ambitious, was seemingly very realistic after they had just narrowly missed out on a place in the Premier League in the previous season as Aston Villa ran out 2-1 winners in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

Speaking to the club's in-house media, he said: "It’s been a frantic last week or so but we have got the deal done to join in January and I’m looking forward to it.

"My agent spoke with the owner here, Mel Morris, and we realised there was a deal that could be done. I spoke with the manager, Phillip Cocu, and everything fitted.

"We made the decision to go with it and come here so I’m really excited to be playing back in England, of course, but also to have the opportunity to be part of the coaching staff and see how the manager works."

Rooney continued: "It’s a great opportunity for myself but it’s also a good opportunity for me to try and help the team.

"It’s a great time and great step in my career to come here. First and foremost, I am here as a player and I can bring a lot of quality and experience to the squad.

"Hopefully I can help the club go one step further and get promotion. That’s the idea and ambition and I feel with the squad of players we have here, I can certainly help do that."

Rooney was never able to deliver promotion as off-field issues plagued his time at Derby

Rooney spent just over a year playing for the Rams, scoring six goals in 30 Championship appearances across the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.

However, following Cocu's sacking, he stepped up to be the club's interim manager before taking on the role on a full-time basis. Derby narrowly avoided relegation in his first campaign in charge, with a 3-3 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday enough to save the team on the final day.

However, the summer was a tough one for the Rams as financial issues hit them hard and they were eventually placed into administration by Mel Morris in September 2021. The Championship side were deducted 21 points, with nine of those coming for historical financial irregularities and survival looked near impossible.

However, Rooney was reluctant to give in, and his team marched through the emotional pain barrier on multiple occasions, before just falling short of their goal with three games to go.

The ex-Birmingham City manager was never able to achieve his goal of promotion with Derby, but he left his mark on the club, in what is still perhaps his best ever showing in coaching.