Derby County announced this evening that they had parted ways with manager Phillip Cocu.

The Dutch legend took charge in July 2019 and led the Rams to 10th place in the Championship in his first season. The 2020/21 campaign did not start off well, though.

After 11 games, Derby found themselves bottom of the league with just six points, and no sign of a victory coming, having no win in their last five games.

With a takeover from a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family pending, it was expected that Cocu was to keep his job for now, but that is clearly not the case.

Also leaving the iPro Stadium are Cocu's assistants - Chris van der Weerden and Twan Scheepers - and it will be interesting to see if they can get a replacement in in-time for their next game against Bristol City next week.

If not, you'd expect that Wayne Rooney would take temporary charge, as England's all-time top scorer has been groomed for a top role having become a player/coach upon signing his contract.

As you'd expect, the news has come as a surprise to Derby fans, who have been reacting on Twitter, and the response has been a lot more sad rather than the happiness you'd see elsewhere for an underperforming manager being given the boot.