Derby County have confirmed that Steve McClaren has stepped down as Technical Director, although he will remain at the club on a part time consultancy basis.

The 60-year-old has had various roles with the Rams over the years, with his association with the club originally coming in his playing days, whilst he has been an assistant and manager too.

He returned in his latest role in November last year but he has now stepped down following talks with the administrators, as confirmed by Derby this evening.

It was inevitable that changes would be made following the club's financial problems and the club revealed that McClaren had actually volunteered to vacate his position in order to try and help save other jobs.

Whilst he will still be paid for his part-time job, reports have stated that he will be on a 'vastly reduced' rate. McClaren's will now be there to advise the administrators during this process as they search for a new buyer.

On the football side, Wayne Rooney's side have already lost 12 points which has seen them drop to the bottom of the Championship.

The verdict

Firstly, you have to say that McClaren deserves plenty of credit for offering to step down in order to help others, and that's sure to be appreciated by those at the club and the fans.

From the view of the administrators, it's a move that makes sense as well, as they have saved a wage but they can still use McClaren's experience and knowledge to help moving forward.

You would expect more tough decisions will still have to be made in the future as a consequence though.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.