Derby County are in administration - video with voiceover
Derby County boss Wayne Rooney has blasted club owner Mel Morris following the appointment of administrators this week. The Championship club were placed into administration by Morris following a string of failed takeover attempts.
The Rams have subsequently been slapped with the standard 12 point penalty, dumping Rooney's side to the bottom of the table with -2 points - and there could yet be more point deductions to come.
And Rooney has now slammed the outgoing Derby in an explosive press conference which took place on Thursday afternoon - with the former England star revealed that he hadn't had a proper conversation with Morris since August 9th.
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Rams owner Morris has struggled to find a buyer (Image: Getty)
"I grew up on a council estate in Liverpool. I know how tough life can be. What kind of person would I be if I went and laid on a beach for a few weeks.
"We will get through this, there is no worry the club will go into liquidation."
Rooney's scathing comments on Morris are a stark contrast to those of his former England team-mate Frank Lampard.
Lampard, who led Derby to the Championship play-off final during his year in charge back in 2019, spoke out in defence of the beleaguered Rams owner earlier this week.
"I don't know the current circumstances but Mel Morris cares deeply about the club," Lampard told Coral bookmakers. "He has invested a fortune into it and I can only speak so highly of him and how he treated me.
"People will have different stories about Mel but he was amazing for me during my time there. He was brilliant on the human side of things.
"He looked after me, the people who worked there and all the players. I really hope that they find the right solutions because I had a great time there."
Andrew Hosking, Carl Jackson and Andrew Andronikou, managing directors at business advisory firm Quantuma, have been appointed joint administrators of the Rams.
Hosking said: "We are in the early stages of assessing the options available to the club and would invite any interested parties to come forward.
"Our immediate objectives are to ensure the club completes all its fixtures in the Championship this season and finding interested parties to safeguard the club and its employees."