Breaking news: return of a legend as rooney returns for talks to take charge of Manchester United, he will bring back that tropy winning DNA ,he arrives old trafford.

 

A grand old club that has fallen on 

hard times, floundering towards the 

bottom end of the table and unable to 

sign anyone.

Nobody would compare Everton's 

present situation to the horrific state 

of affairs at Derby County, whose 

very existence is in doubt.

But it's clear a certain someone who

 connects the two clubs is pretty handy

 in a crisis. For those who have followed

 Wayne Rooney's progress at Derby, 

it comes as little surprise to see him 

among the bookmakers' favourites to 

replace Rafa Benitez at Goodison Park.

Rooney the manager reflects Rooney 

the player. A fighter who doesn't give

 up easily, fully committed to a cause 

and rolling with the punches a 

daunting first job in the dug-out 

has sent his way.

Lesser characters than the 36-year

-old former England captain would

 have folded by now given the truly 

desperate situation at Pride Park that 

seemingly deteriorates with every

 passing week.

But Rooney, learning quickly on the 

job, simply knuckles down and gets on 

with it. The grey hairs in his beard 

are inevitable given the circumstances.

As he said at the beginning of the season

, when he spent several nights on the

 sofa in his office at Derby's training

 ground while working round the clock

 to bolster his squad: 'I'm a fighter. 

I grew up on a council estate in 

Liverpool - I don't walk away from

 challenges easily.'

Rooney spent most of his career 

working under the greatest manager 

of them all. Sir Alex Ferguson was 

expert at creating the bunker mentality 

that made players believe the whole 

world was conspiring against Manchester

 United.

Naturally, he has been in touch with

 Ferguson and also David Moyes to 

ask for advice on occasion and holds 

Zoom calls with fellow managers to 

share advice and best practice.

Rooney has absorbed and applied some

 of Ferguson's man-management 

techniques - after all, who better 

to learn from?

When he first came into Derby, initially

 as a player with meaningful input 

into formation, tactics and video analysis

 within Cocu's coaching staff, Rooney 

established connections with his new team

-mates by talking casually about 

non-footballing topics.

With the connection made, conversations

 over on-pitch matters became easier

, not least because of the natural 

sense of awe among young players 

who grew up watching Rooney's stellar

 career.

The enthusiasm with which Rooney

 threw himself into every training exercise

 and match as a Derby player reinforced

 the sense of respect when he became

 manager.

It was obvious from the outset that 

Rooney wasn't at the club for one final

 £100,000-a-week payday leveraged 

by a gambling firm's 'star player clause

' in his contract.

But his fortitude has come in most 

handy at Derby, where Rooney's twilight

 years as a midfield schemer suddenly

 transformed into the toughest managerial

 job currently in football when Phillip

 Cocu was fired in November 2020.

The Rams were bottom of the 

Championship but picked up enough 

results with Rooney as caretaker 

manager to see him appointed permanently

 in the January.

In the end, they stayed up by the skin

 of their teeth, drawing 3-3 with Sheffield

 Wednesday on the final day of last season

 and thankful that a late equalizer

 sent Rotherham down instead.

Then the real trouble began. Already

 under a partial transfer embargo from

 the EFL that made strengthening the

 squad virtually impossible, Derby 

were deducted 12 points for entering

 administration in September.

They were in financial meltdown 

as owner Mel Morris left, saying the 

club had lost him over £200million 

since 2015, including £20m in lost 

revenue while Pride Park sat empty

 during the Covid pandemic.

That sent Derby to the foot of the 

table and worse followed in November

 with a further nine-point deduction 

after the club admitted breaching 

EFL accounting rules.

As the search for new investment and

 ownership continues at a frustratingly 

slow pace, the EFL have now requested

 proof money will be coming into the

 club to sustain them until May.

Former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley

 is one potential saviour but the spectre

 of liquidation now looms over Derby

. This is very much an existential 

crisis now.

Against this dismal backdrop, the 

club have been forced to let go senior 

players to balance the books. Veteran 

defender Phil Jagielka and midfielder 

Graeme Shinnie have left in recent days.

Yet astonishingly, despite all this, 

Rooney continues to work miracles

 on the field.

With crystal clear focus he has

 blocked out the external noise and 

used the dwindling squad resources 

at his disposal to win four of the 

last five games.

Saturday's 2-0 home win over 

Sheffield United lifted Derby off the

 bottom of the table and if it wasn't for 

their lost 21 points, they'd currently 

sit 11th in the Championship.

So it's little wonder that Everton 

may think, looking beyond the obvious 

romantic aspect to his return, that 

Rooney has the managerial skills to 

turn their ailing season around.

Rooney rarely raised his voice above

 a mumble and insists he doesn't have

 a 'hairdryer' but he has shown a ruthless

 streak in reprimanding those who 

aren't prepared to listen to him.

Martyn Waghorn felt his cold shoulder

 when he was dropped last season 

for not taking a training session 

seriously enough.

Ferguson liked to bring through

 young talents and given them their 

chance to impress. Rooney has had 

little choice. The paucity of Derby's 

squad means he has given debuts to 

almost 20 academy graduates.

Rooney has relished imparting his 

wisdom to them. As he said in one recent

 interview: 'What you find with the 

young lads is they listen.'

The young lads could be all Derby 

are left with by the end of the month 

as players abandon the sinking ship.

 The EFL have also imposed a second

 transfer embargo in 12 months, leaving

 Rooney to rip up his list of January

 targets.

Rooney may be offered an escape 

rope soon as well, though Belgium

 boss Roberto Martinez is the favourite 

to take over at Everton.

Despite reiterating his commitment 

to Derby at every turn this season and 

not giving up on pulling off the most 

miraculous of relegation escapes, 

nobody would blame Rooney for

 moving.

What is for sure is that his first foray

 into management has been a true

 baptism of fire. Whichever job 

comes next for Rooney, it won't 

have half the hassle of this one.