Wayne Rooney is set to revolutionise Derby County’s training sessionsas he takes over as interim boss at Pride Park, it has emerged. The 34-year-old replaces departing Phillip Cocu whose only victory this season came against his son while playing FIFA21 on the Xbox.
Last week’s 2-0 loss to Barnsley was the final nail in Cocu’s coffin, which is hotly tipped for cremation by Monday morning. The club’s prospective new owner, Sheikh Khaled, a cousin of Man City’s Sheikh Mansour, believes model professional Rooney would be the ideal man to replace the Dutchman permanently.
Preliminary talks between the potential buyers and Rooney’s people took place on Friday, with the Manchester United legend blowing Derby bosses away with a presentation featuring some pioneering new training techniques. It’s understood the former Everton striker wants to introduce the players to new skills such as kitchen sparring and smoking.
“Asking the lads to knock seven shades of sh*te out of each other before a game may seem unorthodox to some,” Rooney told Paddy Power News. “But some of my best games for Manchester United came after a marathon boxing session in the kitchen the night before. Nothing clears the cobwebs on the eve of a big game like a few precise head shots.”
England’s record goalscorer also recommends smoking as a great way to unwind between games. “Some of the sports science lads might disagree with me, but I’m still a great believer in the pre-match cig.
“Nerves can get the better of some players, especially on the big stage. But I always found a quick puff could take the edge off,” he grinned.
Meanwhile, the five-time Premier League winner revealed he’ll be adopting some of the methods he picked up from managers he played under.
“I was lucky enough to have played under some of the greatest managers in the world. Sir Alex Ferguson, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Fabio Capello – but the one I admired the most was Sam Allardyce. There aren’t many coaches in the game who could wash down a belly-buster fry-up with a pint of Pinot Grigio but Big Sam’s one of them.”
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