Former England captain John Terry has sent a message to Wayne Rooney and Derby County following the Rams' relegation from the Championship – revealing he is "gutted" to see them go down and hopes they can "bounce back next season". 

With Derby losing 1-0 to QPR and Reading drawing 4-4 with Swansea City yesterday, it was confirmed that the Pride Park outfit have been relegated to League One.

The Rams have been deducted a total of 21 points this season and have a threadbare squad due to the club's administration but Rooney and his players still came close to what would have been a truly remarkable escape from the drop.

Tributes have poured in since the news was confirmed and Terry is among those to have sent a message via social media.

The 41-year-old took to Twitter to hail the fight shown by his former England teammate Rooney and the Derby players.

It looks as though it is only a matter of time before Barnsley and Peterborough United are confirmed as the teams going down alongside the Rams.

The Verdict

Terry's message is yet more proof of just how proud Derby fans can be of Rooney and the players.

His thoughts will likely be echoed by plenty of those in football, irrelevant of their links to the East Midlands club.

They have faced so many obstacles this season but having kept believing and kept fighting, nearly came close to securing survival under incredible circumstances.

It means that despite the relegation, they can head into next season with a fair bit of positivity – as long as Chris Kirchner's takeover is completed soon.