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      Steve McClaren rejoins Derby as advisor and technical director with possible Wayne Rooney manager link-up on cards

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      DERBY COUNTY have announced the appointment of Steve McClaren as advisor and technical director.
      The Rams are on the brink of a £60million takeover from Derventio Holdings, which is owned by Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed al-Nehayan of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family.

      Steve McClaren has returned for another stint at DerbyCredit: PA:Press Association

      McClaren will be reunited with Wayne RooneyCredit: PA:Press Association

      But while the deal rumbles on in the background, having been given the green light by the EFL, the Rams’ incumbent owners are seeking to reverse sliding fortunes on the pitch.
      Upon announcing McClaren’s return, CEO Stephen Pearce said: “We are delighted to have Steve’s help and support at this critical time.
      “His knowledge, experience, and academic qualifications will be invaluable to us. I am sure he will make a huge contribution.”
      Derby were expected to challenge for promotion this season, having come tenth last time out.

      But they currently sit bottom after a dismal start to the campaign, which led to the sacking of Phillip Cocu earlier this month.
      And in returning to Pride Park, McClaren will reunite with his former England talisman Wayne Rooney.
      The pair worked together during the former’s ill-fated tenure as Three Lions boss between 2006 and 2007.
      Rooney, 35, is currently in charge on an interim basis alongside Liam Rosenior.

      Rooney is currently player/interim coach at DerbyCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      But the duo have so far failed to arrest the slump, losing 1-0 at Bristol City on Saturday.
      According to TEAMtalk, Rooney wants McClaren to be part of his coaching staff, should he get the managerial gig full-time.
      McClaren initially represented the Rams as a player between 1985 and 1988, making 25 appearances for the club.
      He then returned as manager in 2013, coming within a whisker of taking his old side back to the Premier League.
      Derby lost the 2013-14 play-off final 1-0 to QPR in his first year in charge, before a late season meltdown cost them even a top-six spot the season after, blowing promotion having been league leaders in February.
      Following a subsequent spell at Newcastle, he returned once again to Pride Park in October 2016, but failed to replicate any of the old magic, being sacked just five months later.

      Wayne Rooney talks about his upcoming coaching qualifications at Derby More

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      Football fans could be allowed back in to stadiums soon with Government ‘desperate to get crowds back’

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      FOOTBALL fans could be allowed back in stadiums soon with the Government reportedly ‘desperate’ to get crowds back.
      Ministers are said to be having ‘detailed’ discussions over letting supporters back into open-air arenas.

      Football fans could soon be back in stadiums with the Government ‘desperate’ to see crowds backCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      The main concern is said to be around getting people to and from events while avoiding increased infection risk on public transport, according to the Mail.
      But giving people the ‘morale boosting’ option to go and watch live sport again is one ministers are said to be ‘desperately’ pursuing.
      A source is quoted as saying: “That is an important element to consider.”
      PM Boris Johnson said yesterday: “My first message is ‘thank you’ for what you have done over the last very difficult eight months, my second is that there is hope on the horizon.”

      And a No 10 spokesman added: “Everyone’s efforts during the current national restrictions have helped bring the virus back under control, slowed its spread and eased pressures on the NHS.
      “But the Prime Minister and his scientific advisers are clear the virus is still present – and without regional restrictions it could quickly run out of control again before vaccines and mass testing have had an effect.”
      Brighton fans were allowed in to watch their team’s friendly against Chelsea at the end of August.
      But no other Premier League team has allowed supporters in since that test event.

      Only last week it emerged fans could be allowed back before CHRISTMAS despite the national lockdown.
      The Department of Culture, Media and Sport were said to have submitted proposals which would allow fans in areas where coronavirus infection rates are low to attend games.
      The Government are yet to officially agree but the DCMS’s involvement is encouraging.
      Football fans have long bemoaned not being allowed to re-enter stadiums, while other sports and activities have welcomed back crowds, albeit in limited numbers.
      Last month, West Ham boss David Moyes vented his frustration.
      The Scot was left baffled after West Ham’s clash with Manchester City was played behind closed doors, but the match was screened in an indoor cinema just a ten-minute walk away.
      Moyes said: “People are going watch a game in a cinema, close to here, why can we not be sitting outside in the open air doing it?
      “Please come out and give us an explanation as to why we can’t do it.”

      Rishi Sunak says government doing their best to get families together for Christmas — but warns it won’t be ‘normal’ More

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      Pukki fires Norwich top after Boro’s Tavernier has penalty disallowed for touching ball TWICE to end long unbeaten run

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      TEEMU PUKKI fired Norwich top and ended the country’s longest unbeaten run following penalty drama at Middlesbrough.
      The Canaries striker came off the bench to stroke home a spot-kick to earn a 1-0 win – but Boro boss Neil Warnock was left spitting feathers over his side’s bad luck as their 10-game undefeated streak came to a crashing end.

      Teemu Pukki came off the bench to fire Norwich top after victory at MiddlesbroughCredit: PA:Press Association

      Marcus Tavernier’s penalty was ruled out after he slipped taking it and hit the ball twiceCredit: Getty

      Marcus Tavernier was handed the perfect chance to fire the hosts ahead on 51 minutes, but he touched the ball twice after slipping while converting to force the officials to rule it out before Pukki struck late on.
      Warnock, whose side had gone 10 without defeat prior, admitted he had not witnessed anything like the Tavernier incident in over 1,000 games in the dug-out.
      He said: “No, not really. That’s how it goes. We’ve had a few lads slip today.
      “Marcus Bettenelli didn’t have a shot to save today against a really good side – which makes it all the more disappointing. You need a bit of luck.”

      There was little to separate the sides at the break but moments after the restart the game burst into life with the unique moment very rarely seen.
      Tavernier placed the ball on the spot after ex-Boro star Ben Gibson tripped him inside the area and slotted home down the middle despite losing his footing.
      But Boro’s celebrations were short lived as the eagle-eyed referee spotted the attacker had touched the ball with both feet when falling, and awarded a free-kick to Norwich instead.
      A super last-ditch tackle from Dael Fry denied Pukki when clean through as the Canaries flew forward in search of a breakthrough.

      However, it would be the Finn who delivered the killer blow in the 72nd minute as he sent Bettinelli the wrong way after Hayen Coulson fouled Aarons.
      Norwich boss Daniel Farke said: “It feels like a massive win for us. It’s a tough place and they have conceded just once in their last eight games.
      “Both penalties were fair to be rewarded. But thank god they were unable to use their situation and Pukki was ice cold.”

      The best available free agents still on the market

      Neil Warnock leaves fans in hysterics as Cardiff boss stares into TV camera More

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      Neil Warnock reveals he nearly signed up for ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’… and won’t rule it out in future

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      NEIL WARNOCK has revealed that he nearly appeared on ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’.
      The veteran gaffer guided Middlesbrough to safety last season.

      Neil Warnock is still going strong in management at 71Credit: PA:Press Association

      But he may not have taken up his 17th job in management, had he made a different decision a few years ago.
      Warnock, 71, revealed: “I was nearly in it!
      “It might have been two or three years ago – but I was approached.
      “Imagine if I’d said yes – everybody would have been voting for me wouldn’t they, to do every bloody thing?

      “I know my kids would have been.
      “My kids – Amy and William – were straight on to me saying they would be phoning every night.
      “They were saying, ‘We’ll make sure you get those maggots, Dad’.
      “Will it happen in the future? Let’s play it by ear.”

      Warnock, 71, has guided Boro to seventh in the ChampionshipCredit: PA:Press Association

      There is a precedent for wily football managers doing well on ‘I’m A Celebrity’, with Harry Redknapp having been crowned ‘King of the Jungle’ back in 2018.
      But while Warnock’s Middlesbrough continue to go well, with the boss having scooped the Championship’s Manager of the Month award for October, don’t expect the Yorkshireman to quit his day job just yet.
      He revealed to the Mail: “Mid-table doesn’t do it for you when you’re 71. In for a penny, in for a pound. I want to be challenging at the top.”
      Despite having struggled badly last season, Boro now find themselves sitting seventh under Warnock’s tutelage – just four points behind Reading in top spot.
      ‘I’m A Celeb’, meanwhile, has been forced to go ahead in the UK this year, with coronavirus having KO’d any hopes of taking the show Down Under as usual.
      Ant and Dec, however, have still been putting the likes of British sporting great Mo Farah through their paces with gruesome trials.

      Neil Warnock tests positive for coronavirus and will self-isolate More

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      Ivan Toney vows to shoot Brentford into the Prem like Zlatan Ibrahimovic… then sing like Neil Diamond in dressing room

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      IVAN TONEY claims to have the confidence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the singing voice of Neil Diamond.
      And while no-one at Brentford has yet heard him belt out Sweet Caroline or Forever In Blue Jeans, they have certainly seen his self-assurance in front of goal.

      Ivan Toney has got off to a storming start to life at Brentford with 10 goals

      The striker – yet to do his initiation song which he promises to be a Diamond classic – believes he has Ibrahimovic qualities that will help shoot him and the Bees into the Premier League.
      Toney, 24, signed for £5m from Peterborough in the summer, was the man tasked with filling Ollie Watkins’ shoes after his £28m switch to Aston Villa.
      And while Watkins thumped 28 goals last season, his replacement has already fired 10 goals in his first 11 games and has just won the SkyBet Championship player of the month award.
      And he told SunSport: “I’ve always liked Zlatan. I just love his confidence.  Some people see it as arrogance but you must be like that to succeed. 

      “I’m similar to Zlatan in both my confidence and the way I play. When he wants to do something, he just does it. I have some of that in my game and personality. And I believe I’ll be a Premier League striker.”
      Brentford’s famous BMW frontline of Said Benrahma, Bryan Mbeumo and Watkins plundered a staggering 61 goals between them last season but they lost in the play-off final against Fulham after blowing automatic promotion by losing their last two games of the season against Stoke and Barnsley.
      Only Mbeumo remains with Benrahma on loan at West Ham – which means there is pressure on Toney to fill the void.

      Brentford’s BMW frontline fired 61 Championship goals last season
      But Brentford have a great track record of continually refreshing themselves. After Neil Maupay moved to Brighton, Watkins stepped up to the plate – and now it is the turn of Toney.

      And he said: “There’s always pressure but I don’t feel it. That’s why Brentford brought me in. They believed I could fill the shoes of all the strikers that had been in there before.
      “Do I think I can get 25 goals? Yes. If you set targets, they must be sky high because if you finish just under it’s still going to be a good achievement.
      “Brentford keep producing 25-goal strikers – so why can I not be the next one? I believe it, the manager believes it, my team-mates believe it – so why not go for it?
      “When you’re a striker, confidence is key. The only person who can do it – and sometimes the only person who believes you can – is yourself. If you believe, anything is possible.”
      Toney was a late bloomer in football and was spotted aged 13 by Leicester. But he was told he had something special when he played in front of his mum’s house at Eastfield Park in Northampton.

      Ivan Toney won SkyBet’s Championship player of the month for October
      He said: “My cousin Nathan Hicks used to be on the books at Leicester and I played with him, my other cousins and friends, at the front of the house.
      “They were all 18 to 20 and I was handling it well and they all thought I could play – and in the end Leicester scouted me and I was with them from 13 until they released me at 16.”
      He joined home-town club Northampton – and made his first-team debut, aged still 16, against Bradford in the FA Cup in November 2012.
      First he played under Aidy Boothroyd and then Chris Wilder. And it was under the current Sheffield United boss where he made his mark – scoring twice at Dagenham in a 3-0 win that helped to maintain the Cobblers’ EFL status.

      Ivan Toney is loving life at Brentford and wants to take them into the Prem
      Toney said: “Chris taught me about positional awareness so I could score more goals and had faith in starting me in that must-win game. I repaid him.”
      Wolves pulled out of signing him in 2015 after putting him through a medical: “They cited I had scoliosis in the back but I think that was just an excuse – I’ve never had any issues with my back.”
      But that just opened the door for Newcastle, who snapped him up instead. Toney spent three years at St James’ Park and made two cameo Premier League appearances off the bench against Chelsea and Manchester United as well as two others in the League Cup against Northampton and Sheffield Wednesday.
      He said: “I moved to Newcastle as a young boy aged 18 and went straight into the Premier League. It was crazy.
      “The players I was playing and training with I was more used to playing them in the FIFA game!
      “But I took it in my stride and was grateful to be there because I learned so much.
      “I felt the tempo was a lot faster to anything I’d ever been used to. I’d go onto the field and think I have time to take a touch – but you often don’t have the luxury at that level.
      “It has helped me for the rest of my career and given me a great sniff of where I could be playing.” 
      But most of his time at the club was spent on loan – two spells with Barnsley, two with Scunthorpe and stints with Wigan and Shrewsbury.Toney found that tough and admitted: “It wasn’t the best situation for me because you’re on your own constantly moving around every six months. Also when a club keeps loaning you out, it makes you feel unwanted by your parent club.”
      But it was at Peterborough where his career took off – scoring 23 goals in his first season and then last term was on 26 when the League One campaign was ended by the coronavirus in March.
      And he said: “I found my feet there. The manager Darren Ferguson, when he came in, was great to me and said, ‘You can be as good as you want to be as long as you work hard for it.’ My game really kicked on under him.”Peterborough and Brentford have similar models in the way they keep recruiting and selling up-and-coming talent – and that is why Toney signed for both clubs.

      He said: “Peterborough have a good record with their strikers. If you don’t get promoted with them, they let you move on. “It’s exactly the same with Brentford but it’s not just that here though. I feel they’re a club able to play in the Premier League.
      “Also I like manager Thomas Frank a lot. He’s someone who I want to work hard for. What I like about him is he literally will do anything to help anyone – not just players, but the staff and anyone around the club. He’s genuine and everything you want from a manager.”

      Ivan Toney vowed to belt out some Neil Diamond classics to his team-mates
      Toney has not done his initiation song yet but has been told he will have to do it.And he is promising to sing a Diamond classic and said: “With a deep voice like mine, I try to hit the high notes. I don’t mind singing.
      “I’ll go for Neil Diamond because you have to know your dressing room. I get the feeling there are quite a few of his fans in there. I just hope they all join in so I’ll be let off lightly.” More

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      Ben Amos was oblivious to real world in Man Utd bubble… but has found his feet ELEVEN clubs later at Charlton

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      BEN AMOS has learned so much since leaving the cosy surroundings of Old Trafford.
      And the keeper says the biggest of the lot has been: “There is a big world outside Manchester United.”

      Ben Amos won the SkyBet League One player-of-the-month for his top form

      Ben Amos during his early professional playing days at Manchester United

      Sir Alex Ferguson gave him his debut at the age of 18.The keeper played seven times for United – once in the Premier League, five in the League Cup and once in the Champions League.But after the legendary former manager retired in 2013, Amos never got a look-in under either David Moyes or Louis van Gaal.Amos, now 30, is making his mark at Charlton – having played for ELEVEN different clubs.And he said: “The big thing I’ve learned since leaving is there’s a world outside Man United.“I was going into proper men’s football week in, week out. At United I had been getting a little taste of first-team football and then I’d be out.“I’d sit and wait and wouldn’t be allowed out on loan. It was difficult to get a flow of first-team games.“So what I learned was the Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday grind of men’s football.”Amos admits he was inside a Manchester United bubble – oblivious to the sometimes harsh realities of the game outside of it.He said: “I wasn’t aware of it at the time. You expect everywhere to be held to the same standards of the Ferguson reign.“But you learn there is life outside of that. It’s not necessarily better or worse. Places are just run differently. It’s part and parcel of growing up.”Ferguson clearly rated Amos to have given him chances. The then rookie keeper held his own too.
      In those seven outings, he kept three clean sheets and conceded five goals and the team won five, drew one and lost one.

      Sir Alex Ferguson gave Amos seven first-team starts at Manchester United

      Ben Amos working with David De Gea in training at Manchester United
      And Amos said: “Sir Alex had faith in me and gave me opportunities at 18. I’ll be eternally grateful for that.“He kept a distance from his players. He worked on that fear factor – including with the senior players.“But, at the same time, he could crack a joke with you.
      “Sir Alex kept everyone guessing and you were always on your toes – even if you were a world-elite footballer.”

      Ben Amos has been in inspired form for Charlton in League One this season
      Amos is in his second spell with the Addicks having had a season on loan in League One from then parent club Bolton three years ago – and the team reached the play-offs.He signed permanently last year after a loan at Millwall but had a frustrating first season on his return – finding himself second-choice to Dillon Phillips and picking up an finger injury that kept him out for four months.So he had to watch from the sidelines as the Addicks were relegated from the Championship.
      Amos said: “It’s part and parcel of being a keeper. I was expecting to play. but joined just 10 days before the season so Dillon started and to his credit he did well. I didn’t get a look-in.“I then had an operation on my finger and that was the best part of four months out.“That is your season done at that point. I did get back at the end of the January. But by that time Dillon was in his groove.“That was great for him – but, thinking selfishly, it was frustrating for me.“But, first and foremost, Dillon and I are friends – we’ve been away on holiday together. We had healthy competition.“I didn’t overthink it. I couldn’t control what Dilon was doing on a matchday so just did my bit every day and was ready if called upon.”Phillips left the club in the summer to join Cardiff, which has enabled Amos to claim the No1 position.And he has had a superb start to the season – and went 575 minutes without conceding before Che Evans beat him twice in two minutes in Charlton’s 3-2 win at Fleetwood before the international break.That has coincided with Lee Bowyer’s men winning six matches on the spin and unbeaten in seven.Amos rates the clean sheet in the 0-0 draw against promotion rivals Sunderland before the six-match winning run as his most satisfying.He said: “We’d just lost back-to-back games against Doncaster and Lincoln – and that result against Sunderland put us back on the right track. Hopefully we can continue that form.”
      Thomas Sandgaard’s takeover of the club has been pivotal to Charlton’s change in fortunes – after an entire season of unrest off the field.

      New owner Thomas Sandgaard has brought a feelgood factor back
      The American-based Danish businessman has given the club some calming stability – and crucially backed Bowyer in the transfer market.In total, he has sanctioned TEN signings – defender Ryan Inniss, Chris Gunter, Ian Maatsen, Akin Famewo, midfielders Ben Watson, Andrew Shinnie, Marcus Maddison, Adam Matthews and strikers Paul Smyth and Omar Bogle.

      Amos said: “Everything he promised he has delivered on so far – and all the things I’m hearing and seeing has been good – long may it continue.“He even has been sending us special medical equipment that his company distributes – so is going over and beyond to help us be successful, which is welcome after what happened in previous months.“The feel-good factor is ultimately driven by results but the stability is need as a springboard to be successful.“We have strength in depth all across the pitch and I don’t think we’ve got going yet. We have loads more in us to kick on, really gel and put in better performances.”

      BEN AMOS FANS’ Q&A

      BEN AMOS answers questions sent to SunSport by Charlton fans.

      MICK McCORMACK: What aspects of your game do you feel you have improved over the last 12 months?BEN AMOS: My distribution definitely. I’ve been working non-stop on that. I try to make gains every day with coach Andy Marshall, he pushes me with tiny little details that we can polish and work on. There isn’t one thing. It’s fine tuning.
      BEN CHURCH: How did you manage the backwards hand save in the play-offs against Shrewsbury? I still can’t get over how you did that.BEN AMOS: Just instinct. I’ve always got that desire to keep the ball out of the net and at that time I found myself with my back to the player and the shot came in. I kept my eyes on it and with pure desperation to keep the ball out I managed to make the save.
      RAY STOWER: Being in goal in empty stadiums at the moment, does that take the pressure off you as a keeper?BEN AMOS: Not for me personally. The pressure is trying to win the game, keep clean sheets and do your best. I focus on myself. If I do that I sleep easier than if I hadn’t.THOMAS SANDGAARD: The back four have a lot of trust in you – how much have the experienced defenders helped you?BEN AMOS: They’re good lads first and foremost. We’re always speaking to each other about the game where they are enthusiastic to learn and have the desire to keep the ball out of the net.That is the first thing I want as a goalkeeper. They have helped me in that respect because there becomes a trust with more games we play. We speak so much how to keep the ball out of the net. More

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      Premier League under pressure again by MPs over why £50m Football League bailout not agreed amid coronavirus pandemic

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      PREM boss Richard Masters has again been asked by MPs to explain why the £50million lower division bail out has not been agreed.
      Masters and EFL chairman Rick Parry were both grilled by the DCMS all-party select committee last week over the continued stand-off.

      Richard Masters has come under pressure to solve the financial crisis that’s hit the football pyramidCredit: PA:Press Association

      Committee head and Tory MP Julian Knight said he would send out public letters to both men on a weekly basis until the situation was resolved.
      And now Knight has published the first batch of correspondence, telling both the Prem and EFL MPs are “disappointed that you have not yet come to an agreement that will ensure the survival of football clubs through the current pandemic.”
      Knight added: “There is enough money in the game to save football clubs but we are beginning to doubt whether there is enough leadership to make that happen. 
      “We urge you to stop squabbling and come to an agreement. 

      “Fans have been waiting too long. 
      “We expect, and the fans deserve, better.”
      SunSport revealed that Championship clubs gave the green light for the League One and Two sides to take advantage of the bail out after the Prem made a £200m loan offer for the EFL top flight.
      But Parry and his clubs are demanding the entire £50m is in the form of a grant, rather than just the first £20m with the rest on a loan, as the Prem proposed.

      EFL chairman Rick Parry was grilled by the digital, culture, media and sport committee Credit: PA:Press Association
      Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston both put extra pressure on Masters and Parry yesterday, insisting it was an obligation on football to sort out its Covid-19 problems.
      The Government is ready to green light a “fan-led review” of the game, and intends to use the Covid crisis stand-off as the starting point and justification for the process.
      Prem chiefs point out that by making 40 per cent of the money a grant, with the other 60 per cent a no-interest loan, they are actually offering Leagues One and Two better terms than the Government has in its new £300m sports “winter survival package”, which is demanding repayment of £250m at “low commercial rates”.
      But Knight warned: “We are losing patience. 
      “Fans have waited a long time for a solution that would safeguard their clubs but all they can see is squabbling at the top of the game. Football and its followers deserve better.
      “The current fiasco in reaching an agreement isn’t about the lack of money, but lack of leadership.

      “We’re putting the current leaders of the Premier League and the EFL on notice. We want to be kept in the loop about every discussion, every meeting, every call, every email, to save clubs at risk. 
      “Nothing should be withheld from the Committee, and so that fans can see what’s going on, we’ll make these updates public.
      “The predecessor DCMS Committee called for legislation to bring in an independent system of football licensing and regulation if the game wasn’t able to reform itself. That time may be fast approaching.” More

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      Wayne Rooney confirms he’s chasing full-time Derby job as ‘ambitious’ Man Utd legend moves into coaching

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      WAYNE ROONEY has confirmed he wants to become Derby’s next boss.
      The England and Manchester United legend, 35, claims he would lack ambition if he did not want to take over the rock-bottom Championship club.

      Wayne Rooney has stated his intentions to become the full-time Derby boss

      We revealed on October 15 that Rooney was in line to replace Phillip Cocu, who was axed on Saturday.
      Rooney, one of four interim Rams bosses, said: “I wouldn’t be an ambitious person if I didn’t want the job.
      “My ambition is to go into management, especially when you see the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Scott Parker all getting good jobs and doing really well.
      “We have to get the next two or three games out the way first.

      “But if they go well it puts us all in a better position to put our names forward for that role.”
      Rooney has addressed ways of how he can help Derby climb up the table with the club winning just once in 11 games this term.
      He added: “The big thing we need to bring back to the players and into our game is simplicity.
      “You can over-complicate things and that’s not always great for players in this position.

      “Different messages, different line-ups, different ways of playing.
      “When you’re struggling and not winning games of football you are always thinking of different ideas of how you get out of that run of bad form. But often the best way out of that is simplicity.
      “As a player you learn, as your career goes on, that if you give the ball away two or three times, the next time the ball comes to you, keep it simple and naturally your confidence grows.
      “Then you can start making more difficult passes again. I think it’s the same with players.
      “Make things simple, don’t overcomplicate by feeding them information which will frazzle their heads.
      “Just do the simple things right and everything will fall into place.”

      Eddie Hearn wants to stage Wayne Rooney vs Rio Ferdinand charity BOXING match at Man Utd’s Old Trafford More