Wayne Rooney will take charge of Derby County until the club takeover is completed, according to Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports.

The Rams have been without a manager since the decision was made to sack Phillip Cocu from his position last week.

Since then things have gone from bad to worse with the Championship's bottom side recording two more defeats to really highlight the precarious situation that they're in.

Quiz: Did these 17 Derby County players ever actually score a league goal for the club?

Wednesday night's 3-0 defeat against Middlesbrough really highlighted the issues, and it seems that things have been addressed in the aftermath.

Rooney started that game, but according to reports will now step back from playing duty in the short-term as he puts his full focus into leading the team as interim manager.

Taking to Twitter, Dorsett said: "Wayne Rooney met Derby County players this morning to say he would be in charge of team affairs until club takeover is complete.

"The squad had no idea he was taking charge until they saw it on Sky Sports News.

"Rooney plays to keep his name off the team sheet tomorrow against Wycombe Wanderers and lead from the technical area."

The Verdict

This is certainly the smart thing to do in the short-term.

Derby County desperately need to start picking up some positive results and having someone as a dedicated manager will be key to doing that.

I'm not convinced that Wayne Rooney is the man to lead the team in the long run, but if this is a measure until the takeover is completed and a more experienced boss can be named, I think it's a good shout.