Derby County defender Curtis Davies has explained the reasons behind Wayne Rooney's success so far in charge of the Rams.

The men from Pride Park have enjoyed an upturn in form since he stepped in after Phillip Cocu was asked to leave the club and since becoming permanent manager that has increased further.

Indeed, a late win over Wycombe Wanderers has left them with real room to breathe for the first-time in a while in terms of the table and they'll be looking to kick on and not look back now.

For defender Davies, who has had to watch on a lot this season thanks to injury, it's Rooney's ability to simplify things that is paying dividends at the moment.

He said, via EFL on Quest:

“The key to our successful run under Rooney is, simplify. With Cocu he didn’t know the Championship as well so tried to play his own style which didn’t always work."

The Verdict

Derby certainly look a tougher proposition to beat at the moment in the Championship and it is clear Rooney has got his players working well together and fighting for the cause.

Each good result takes them a step closer to safety but now they have that handful of sides below them they need to avoid resting on their laurels.

They can just as easily be dragged back into the bottom three and they'll be eager to avoid that for the rest of the campaign.