Derby County boss Wayne Rooney has revealed to Mirror Online that the club had to cancel a recent under-23s fixture because they did not have enough players available to play in it. 

The Rams have struggled to put a full squad together for much of the campaign so far due to the transfer embargo that has been placed on them by the Football League and as a result Rooney has been forced to rely on a host of youngsters to make up the numbers.

Added to the fact that Derby are only allowed to sign free agents on short term contracts and loanees, and things are looking very bleak for the Pride Park club at this present moment.

Now Rooney has laid bare exactly how difficult things are for him and his staff as he stated the following about a recent event which took place at the club:

"We've had to cancel an under-23s fixture yesterday (Monday) because we didn't have enough players so it's not ideal.

"It needs sorting out but my job is to get everyone focused and prepared for the games. The fans know football, they understand what we are trying to do."

The Rams gave game time to a fair amount of academy graduates last night as they lost out to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in the Carabao Cup and it is yet unclear as to whether they will be able to bring in any more players before the transfer deadline next Tuesday.

Derby are back in league action this weekend as they play host to their arch rivals Nottingham Forest in a lunchtime kick off on Saturday at Pride Park.

The Verdict 

Many people will have plenty of sympathy for Rooney and his situation at Derby, but at the end of the day it was the club that put themselves in this mess.

Financial mismanagement has cost them dear and they aren't the first club to have fallen victim to these sorts of sanctions from the EFL.

The hope will be now that they can bring in a few more free agents before the window closes, with the need for more squad depth being underlined by Rooney's comments.

They have faired pretty well so far and will be hoping to pick up another morale boosting victory against Forest on Saturday.