This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Derby County are still on the hunt for a permanent manager following the dismissal of Phillip Cocu back in November.

Wayne Rooney is the current interim boss and has managed to rejuvenate the Rams' form, with the side looking far for resilient and sturdy in comparison to Cocu's stint at the helm.

So, with the 35-year-old making a promising start to life in management with Derby, should the Rams appoint Rooney permanently or look for an alternative manager still?

The team here at FLW discuss...

Phil Spencer

The Derby County job has to go to Wayne Rooney now.

Rooney made a shaky start to life in the hotseat and looked painfully out of his depth in the early stages of his tenure, with the club sleepwalking towards a relegation battle.

Since then things have improved drastically.

One defeat in their last eight fixtures has moved the Rams out of the drop zone and now the focus will be on moving themselves up the table.

It'd be foolish to bring in someone else now - not to mention being completely unjustified after Rooney has stood up to the challenge of his Derby County audition.

Jacob Potter

He's surely a leading contender.

I'll admit that I had my doubts as to whether Rooney would be the right manager to take Derby County forward this season.

But I'm pleased to see him proving me and many others wrong with the Rams, and the way they took the game to Birmingham City recently was a promising sign.

He has a relatively young squad to work with, but I think Rooney has the ability to get the best out of them this season.

Derby need stability at the moment, otherwise there is a real chance they could be in with a chance of being relegated into League One.

Rooney can provide them with that, and he should be their leading contender to take the job on a permanent basis.

 

The ultimate 2021 Derby County quiz - Can you get 24/24 correct?

 

 

Ned Holmes

Surely, at this point it's worth giving Rooney the job.

They've given him time to turn things around and that's just what he has done.

A long unbeaten run has been followed by a fantastic 4-0 win over Birmingham City, in what was clearly their best performance of the season.

The players are beginning to settle under Rooney's leadership, it would seem a very strange move indeed to bring someone else in now.

Giving him the job on a deal until the end of the year would seem to make the most sense to me.