Rooney should be given his Premier League chance right now
Robin Bairner
- 19 Apr 2022 04:00 BST
- 3 min read
Derby County may be relegated, but Wayne Rooney deserves his shot at Premier League football immediately and should be tasked with the job of saving Burnley.
The Manchester United legend was a surprise choice to take the helm at the Rams last summer.
Derby were a club in deep financial difficulty and would receive a total of 21 points deducted as a result of their predicament. Given a limited playing budget, it meant that Rooney was given a seemingly impossible task of keeping the side up.
Ultimately, he was unable to, with the club officially relegated with three matches of the season remaining.
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Nevertheless, the former England striker outperformed expectations dramatically. Had his side not been penalised so harshly, he would have led them to a comfortable mid-table position – an achievement not to be dismissed given the limitations he was working under.
Indeed, Burnley’s position is positively luxurious by comparison. There are still seven games of the Premier League season left to save the club, who trail Everton by only three points and have an identical goal difference.
Why Rooney should take Burnley job
It would represent a free hit for Rooney, of whom little could be expected following the shock sacking of Shaun Dyche last week. This is a team that has been widely condemned to relegation yet, somehow, still stands a realistic chance of survival if they can find someone to go in and shake them up.
Among their remaining fixtures are Southampton, Watford, Aston Villa (twice) and Newcastle. Collecting significant points from those games is not beyond the realms of possibility.
The question would be whether Rooney would leave Derby for the challenge.
Given by his social media post after Derby’s relegation was confirmed, he is in no hurry to leave.
Absolutely gutted with the outcome from today. Proud of all the players and staff, unbelievable effort from everyone. Thanks to all our fans for the incredible support through some tough times. Hopefully we can start to rebuild as soon as possible. 🐏🤍🖤 #dcfc @dcfcofficial pic.twitter.com/iTf4kBVYFu
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) April 18, 2022
“Absolutely gutted with the outcome from today. Proud of all the players and staff, unbelievable effort from everyone. Thanks to all our fans for the incredible support through some tough times. Hopefully we can start to rebuild as soon as possible,” he said.
Realistically, though, Rooney will have his eyes on bigger things than League One, and even if Burnley were to come down, he would stand a good chance of taking them back up. It is an opportunity that both parties must consider.
