The former Red Devil played a crucial role on debut to securing a winning start to life with the Rams
Derby County manager Phillip Cocu has confirmed Wayne Rooney as the club’s captain going forward after the former Manchester United forward impressed on debut.
Rooney, who joined the Rams in a joint player-coach role, claimed the assist for Derby’s first goal in a 2-1 win over Barnsley on Thursday.
The 34-year-old played the full 90 minutes as his new club claimed a crucial three points to start 2020.
Having not played competitively since mid-October when his former side D.C. United were beaten in the MLS Cup playoffs by Toronto FC, Rooney savoured the chance to play again and is eager to contribute as much as possible on the pitch in coming months.
“It was a good win,” Rooney told RamsTV. “Barnsley are in good form and were unbeaten in five. I watched the game earlier on in the season and it is a different Barnsley to what that team was.
“It’s seven points out of the last nine and for myself personally, I was delighted to get 90 minutes.
“It was a great reception from the crowd, also. I’ve been to all the games over the last month and they have always given me a good reception, so it was nice to get out on the pitch today and help the team get the win.
“It was nice [to be back out on the pitch]. I’ve been training for a long time now so it’s always nice to get back out on the pitch. I felt good and the most important thing for us was the three points.
“Everyone that knows me knows that I want to play in all the games. I will recover well now – it’s a quick turnaround – and I will have a good recovery session and be ready for Sunday.”
Derby have now won consecutive league matches to jump up to 17th but they had previously been on a seven-game winless run.
After seeing the positive impact of Rooney on Thursday, Cocu confirmed he’d be making a mistake not to install the former England international as their permanent skipper.
“Wayne Rooney is our captain,” Cocu said.
“If we have a player among us who was captain of the national team with such a career and experience and leadership, I think it makes sense for everybody that he will be the captain of Derby County.”
The Rams’ next match will see them travel to Crystal Palace for a third-round FA Cup clash.
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