Wayne Rooney has reiterated his desire to stay on as Derby County manager and be the man to rebuild the club as their inevitable relegation finally came to pass on Easter Monday.
Derby were almost certain to go down before the season had even begun as they were deducted 21 points due to financial misconduct and also placed under a transfer embargo. Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, Manchester United legend Rooney has done a remarkable job at Pride Park as he amassed enough points to comfortably finish above the relegation zone if it wasn't for the deduction and kept the club's chances of staying up alive until the final three games of the season.
Yet, the Rams finally succumbed to relegation to League One after a 1-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers. Following the match, Rooney, who has been heavily linked with the vacant Burnley job over the past week, once again expressed his desire to stay in Derbyshire but made it clear that would hinge on the completion of a takeover.
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"The takeover has to happen, if it doesn't happen then I really fear for the club. I fear for where the club will end up," he told Sky Sports. "The club's future is in doubt if that doesn't happen, my future is in doubt if that doesn't happen, so it has to.
"If it happens then, as I said, I want to rebuild the club. You see the fans, what it means to the fans, every week this is a special club. A big club we're all proud to be here and I want to be the one to bring those happy days back."
Despite relegation, Rooney remained incredibly proud of the efforts of his players and staff throughout the campaign.
"Proud," he said when asked to sum up his emotions. "It's a strange feeling because everything we've been through as a group, the lads on the pitch, the staff, the fans, the development of the team of players as individuals as the team as a group has been really positive. There are so many positives.
"Yeah we've been relegated but I've never seen a team get relegated and [get] a reaction from the fans like that. I thought it was incredible the support the fans have given the lads all season. So yeah of course disappointed, sad, upset but proud.
"In some ways we can draw a line under everything that's happened and really start to rebuild this club and try to move this club forward. We need the takeover to happen that has to happen quick. The quicker that can happen, obviously we know what league we're going to be in next season, the quicker we can start trying to develop the squad, bring players into the squad who we can feel can get us back up."
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