Derby County have parted company with manager Phillip Cocu, fourteen months after hiring the Dutchman to replace now-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.
The EFL Championship club have also confirmed the departures of coaches Chris van der Weerden and Twan Scheepers with immediate effect.
Derby Sack Phillip Cocu
Results Had Been Dwindling at Pride Park
An official statement on the club’s website confirmed the departure of 50-year-old Cocu, as well as his assistant manager van der Weerden and first-team coach Scheepers.
“The club would like to place on record its appreciation for the way Phillip and his staff conducted themselves in what were some extremely challenging situations during his tenure,” detailed the announcement.
“Phillip and his staff helped develop and establish a considerable number of Academy players into the first-team squad and Phillip made significant financial contributions and personal efforts towards the club’s community projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the club are extremely grateful for.
“Derby County wishes to thank Phillip, Chris and Twan for their hard work and dedication over the last 16 months and wish them every success in their future careers,” the statement added.
Cocu and his staff took over after previous manager Frank Lampard decided to swap Pride Park for Stamford Bridge last year, and have overseen 65 matches at the helm since then. The club was expected to challenge for promotion to the Premier League in that time but finished 10th in the Championship table in 2019/20. This season, the Rams currently find themselves marooned at the foot of the division after 11 matches.
Derby in No Rush to Find Cocu Replacement
Alongside the news detailing Cocu’s sacking, the Championship side urged patience from their supporters as they begin their search for a new manager.
Despite picking up only six points so far this season, the club has indicated that there is no rush while they complete this process, adding that it “will provide further updates when appropriate and will be making no further comment in the meantime”.
Once the current international break ends, Derby are next in action against Bristol City on 21 November with, according to Simon Stone of BBC Sport, Liam Rosenior Wayne Rooney, Shay Given and Justin Walker overseeing proceedings.
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