[ad_1]
Derby parted ways with Phillip Cocu by mutual consent, the championship club announced.
The Dutchman took over as coach during the summer of 2019 following Frank Lampard’s departure to Chelsea. However, Derby has scored just six points this season and sits at the bottom of the table. Assistant coach Chris van der Weerden and first team specialist coach Twan Scheepers have also left their duties.
A statement read: “The club would like to place on record its appreciation for the manner in which Phillip and his staff conducted themselves in what were some extremely challenging situations during their tenure. Phillip and his staff helped develop and establish a considerable number of academy players on the first team squad and Phillip made significant financial contributions and personal efforts toward the club’s community projects during the Covid-19 pandemic, making the club is extremely grateful.
“Derby County wishes to thank Phillip, Chris and Twan for their hard work and dedication over the past 16 months and wish them every success in their future careers. The club will provide further updates when appropriate and will not comment further in the meantime. “
A new manager will not be named until new owners arrive, and until then a coaching team consisting of Wayne Rooney and Liam Rosenior will oversee matters. Rooney, the 35-year-old player-coach, will work alongside Rosenior, who was appointed first team specialist coach last summer, goalkeeping coach Shay Given and first team development coach Justin Walker, who has played a key role. in helping several younger players go to the first team. Derby believes they have a lot of experience with each other and are more than capable of leading the club in the short term.
Rooney said: “I am sorry that Phillip and his team have left the club and I want to personally thank him for all his help and encouragement as part of his coaching staff. The most important thing now is to stabilize the club and start moving up the board. I have been asked to join the coaching staff to help the team prepare for next Saturday’s vital game against Bristol City. The coaches and I will talk to the players on Monday. “
Derby is hopeful that the acquisition of the club, by a cousin of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour, will be completed by the middle of next week. The acquisition of Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan was approved by the English Football League last week. Sheikh Khaled heads Bin Zayed International LLC and previously held talks about buying Liverpool and Newcastle, failing with a £ 350 million offer for the latter.
