Derby County need Wayne Rooney’s reputation to rebuild in League One next season, says former Rams goalkeeper and coach Eric Steele.
Derby have only five players contracted for next season, are under a transfer embargo and cannot renew contracts as they remain in administration.
Rooney has not paid a transfer fee for any player – signing only free agents and loans – during his time in charge.
“People will come and play for Wayne Rooney,” said Steele.
“He has not signed a player that he has paid for, he has never had a budget. He has had to scrap and fight to get players. He’s got them because they’ve wanted to play for him.”
Steele, goalkeeping coach at Manchester United while Rooney was at the club, said England’s all-time leading goalscorer will have impressed prospective players with what he has achieved in a difficult situation at Pride Park in his first job in management.
“Number one, they will [want to come] because of what he did as a player, but now for what he has done as a coach,” Steele told BBC Radio Derby.
With only 17 days until the end of the season, the only first-team players on Derby’s books for their return to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1986 are midfielders Krystian Bielik, Max Bird, Jason Knight, Louie Sibley and forward Jack Stretton.
Contracts for all their defenders and goalkeepers expire in the summer.
Prospective new owner Chris Kirchner, who was named as preferred bidder to buy the club earlier this month, has said he intends to “take over funding” of the club from 7 May even though he anticipates the takeover will not be completed until June.
Following Derby’s relegation on Monday, Rooney reiterated that he wants to stay in charge of the club, but added that his future at Pride Park is dependent on the sale going through.
Steele said taking the club out of administration and allowing Rooney to sign players is now of urgent importance.
“The sands of time, in terms of getting players in, has started now,” Steele said.
“You want Chris Kirchner to say to Wayne, ‘This is your budget’. The sooner he hears those words the better for Wayne, the squad and club.”
Steele added that acting quick will be crucial to trying to keep experienced players such as goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, 37-year-old centre-half Curtis Davies and defender Nathan Byrne.
“You have got players that have played with Wayne who could be tempted to stay,” Steele said.
“Not all of them have to go. If Wayne is able to offer contracts, he could be able to keep five or six of them.
“They are the sort of signings you can make, ready-made players, we know what they can do and who can handle League One.”
