EXCLUSIVE
wrong choice
Derby County should only appoint Wayne Rooney if their plan this season is to be RELEGATED, Simon Jordan has told talkSPORT.
Rooney is one of the frontrunners to replace Philip Cocu at the struggling Championship club.
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The former Manchester United and England striker is currently serving as interim coach while the search for a new permanent boss continues.
The Rams are struggling on the pitch right now, and they are rock bottom of the Championship with just one point claimed, and one goal scored, in the whole of November.
Rooney was brought in as a player/coach in January and the axing of Cocu could accelerate his plans to move into management.
This is all going on amid the backdrop of an ownership change with billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan said to be close to completing a takeover.
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While many want to see Rooney given the chance to test his management skills at Pride Park, former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan believes hiring him would be the completely wrong decision.
The talkSPORT host said on Tuesday’s White and Jordan: “It’s too much of a risk.
"It’s different than Frank Lampard going to Derby. Derby are in shtook and in the middle of an ownership change.
“Wayne Rooney will look like, on paper, an appealing aspiration as I suspect he was brought in on a contract that included a coaching role.
“They’ve now got themselves into a bit of a mess because Cocu was brought in, Rooney has been brought in as a coach and if they bring in a new manager on top of Rooney who doesn’t want him as a coach, all of a sudden they’ve got a bit of a contractual problem.
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“To get them out of the problem now, how can you possibly put Wayne Rooney in that position and really on the balance of probability think he’s going to be successful.
“The are bottom of the league, they are struggling, he’s got no experience in the Championship, he’s never managed before, he hasn’t coached before, he hasn’t earned or learned his stripes in the coaching world.
“If Derby want to get themselves relegated, then appoint Wayne Rooney.”
Former West Ham and Man City midfielder Trevor Sinclair also joined White and Jordan on talkSPORT on Tuesday to discuss Rooney and Derby.
He believes the key to Rooney being successful, if appointed, would be hiring an experienced assistant.
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Sinclair said: “It’s a huge task. It’s a huge challenge. I get he’s played for Sir Alex Ferguson and he’s been one of the most decorated players of recent times, but to jump into a role, similarly to Frank Lampard, to go in and manage a high profile Championship club is a huge challenge.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult and I think it’s key he gets his recruitment right and I’m not talking about on the pitch, which is definitely always critical.
“It’s critical he gets his recruitment right for his number one, his first team coach. He needs to have experience and needs to be able to trust that person to make decisions and help Wayne make decisions.”