Rooney: “It’s Great To See Smiles On Faces Again”

Wayne Rooney has admitted that seeing smiles across the faces of everyone connected with Derby County following Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Millwall is a good feeling.

Derby claimed all three points at The Den as Jason Knight lashed home the only goal of the game with 69 minutes on the clock.

The victory was thoroughly deserved for the Rams as they produced a solid and assured away display in the capital.

Rooney, who is currently leading Derby’s coaching team while the managerial position remains vacant, has pulled no punches in admitting the side have had a difficult start to the 2020/21 Sky Bet Championship season.

Eight points were picked up from the opening 15 matches of the season, but the 35-year-old has stressed in recent weeks how important being positive about the future can help the Rams climb the table.

Saturday’s win means Derby are now unbeaten in three matches, picking up five points in the process, and Rooney says the feel-good factor is something that needs to be built on.

“It was obviously nice to come in after the weekend and see some smiles on everyone’s faces,” Rooney told RamsTV.

“The result was great for us and now the preparation continues for Brentford on Wednesday, but it certainly was good to come in for work and see a few people smiling.

“I think the three points had been coming, so it was nice to get them. The performances have been getting better with each game and we knew Millwall would be a tough one.

“It was always going to be a battle and we knew if we could win that battle then our quality would show through. I felt that’s how the game went, and the lads fully deserved the win.”

Rooney has overseen three games in sole charge of the side, after the first two matches following Phillip Cocu’s departure were led by the coaching quartet of Liam Rosenior, Shay Given, Justin Walker and Rooney.

The former England international feels there have been encouraging signs in recent performances and has stressed that the Rams must keep moving in the right direction.

“You can see in the players that the confidence is growing with each game and now we are three unbeaten and have a clean sheet to build on, too,” he said.

“With each training session the confidence is coming back to the lads as well and with us being three unbeaten. We are creating chances and getting bodies in the box so we can take a lot of positives from the last three games. We just need to keep moving forward.”