Derby County now find themselves standing on the very brink of the deepest black hole - and that’s not just League One.
Relegation is the very least of their problems as Wayne Rooney casts his eye in the direction of the only man who can pull them back from the edge. It's going to take the signature of American tycoon Chris Kirchner to throw them the lifeline they are so desperately looking for. Even if Kirchner seals the deal, there are untold obstacles still in the way of the crisis-hit club; not least the vultures circling looking for easy pickings on their best players.
Rooney will be praying to hang on to the likes of young stars like Jason Knight and Max Bird who have been thrown in at the deep end of a hopeless Championship relegation fight and flourished. Kirchner moved quickly after the side’s relegation was confirmed to describe what Rooney has had to contend with as an “impossible” task.
He underlined that no blame should be laid at the door of the manager, coaches or players for what proved to be a vain attempt to overhaul the handicap of having 21 points deduction imposed by the EFL. Kirchner’s financial people are now scrutinising the books as the named preferred bidder and - hopefully - they won’t find any more bodies in the closet.
Historic cases of the likes of Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday underline that clambering out of the third tier isn’t the cakewalk many assume it will be. Rooney has already said that he probably needs to be looking at getting his ravaged squad back up to around 40 to have any platform to build on.
Republic of Ireland international midfielder Knight and defensive anchorman Bird are both under contract, as is Krystian Bielek. If bigger clubs come calling, the only consolation is that they will get money to ease the pain.
Have Your Say! Will Derby win promotion back to the Championship next season? Join the debate here.
Captain and leading scorer Tom Lawrence is out of contract in the summer and will be on the radar of other clubs, but Rooney wants him to stay and will push for him to get a much-improved new deal. But what of the others? Louise Sibley’s progress has gone backwards a little since he broke into the team, but he’s still tipped for bigger things.
Keeper Ryan Allsop is another out of contract but has already said he’s happy at the club, while wayward star Ravel Morrison seems to have rekindled a bond with Rooney since their days at Old Trafford. The Rams will lose striker Luke Plange who will go back to Crystal Palace after a successful loan spell, while Festy Ebosele is off to Udinese. Kirchner takes the view that you need to go to rock bottom to rebuild, and that’s where Derby are. Lord knows what will befall the club if Kirchner’s deal doesn’t go through for whatever reason.
In that event Rooney will almost certainly say goodbye too, and the very future of the club would be in peril. There’s an awful lot of crossed fingers and toes in and around Pride Park. Who knows? Relegation could prove to be the catalyst for brighter and much better times at this distinguished club.
