Roy Carroll has stated that Derby County are 'sleeping giants' as they continue yet another season in the Championship after losing last season's play-off final.

The Rams were condemned to another season in the second division of English football, after they fell 2-1 to Aston Villa at Wembley last May.

Frank Lampard was in charge then, but since his return to Chelsea, former PSV boss, Phillip Cocu, has taken over as the club's manager.

With the arrival of Manchester United and England legend, Wayne Rooney, in January, the Rams will be hoping that they can put their poor start behind them and have the striker ready to come into a side hoping to push to the Premier League.

Former goalkeeper, Carroll, thinks that it's only a matter of time before the 'big' club reaches the top division.

Speaking to thesportsman.com, Carroll said: "Derby is a big, big club.

"I was there for a year and a half and I tell you what, it’s a sleeping giant who are trying to get in the Premier League.

“I don’t know how Wayne is going to react when he comes back from the MLS because the Championship is a really hard league to get out of and hopefully he came come back to England, score a few goals and get Derby up the table.”

The Verdict

I think Carroll is right when he says that Rooney won't know how to react when he comes into the Championship. It is a very competitive league, and any team can cause any other side problems on their day.

He says that Derby are sleeping giants, but that does push it a bit as they have failed to return to the Premier League after their record low points tally. I'd suggest they're more a team who has the facilities ready to give it a go again, but not giants who have been down.

It'll be interesting to see if Derby can pick up some form before Rooney comes to play, otherwise it could be quite the awakening for the legendary striker.