Wayne Rooney insists there has been no contact from Everton over their vacant managerial position, but is nonetheless flattered by being linked with the role at his boyhood club.
The former Everton striker, currently in charge of financially-stricken Sky Bet Championship club Derby County, is one of the names who has been mentioned as a possible successor to Rafa Benitez at Goodison Park following the Spaniard’s departure.
But, while Rooney understands why his name has been linked to the club he burst onto the scene with as a teenager, the 36-year-old is staying focused on his job with the Rams and stated no approach has been made from the Premier League side to the club’s administrators.
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“I’m the same as everyone else, I see the speculation on social media and in the newspapers and, of course, Everton is a club I grew up supporting,” said Rooney, whose side travel to rivals Nottingham Forest in the Championship live on Sky Sports on Saturday.
“I’m flattered to get brought up in those conversations, but I know Everton will know that for them to have any communication with me they have to go through the administrators.
“Everyone loves a fairytale, but from my point of view my focus is on the game tomorrow. It’s a massive game, it’s a local derby and I have to make sure I treat it with the utmost respect it deserves, and this club deserves.
“They haven’t come calling to the administrators, so I’m not letting anything distract me from the job I’m doing here. I understand the questions have to be asked, but there has been no communication [from Everton] with the administrators, so I can’t say much more on the matter.”
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Sky Sports News reporter Rob Dorsett gives the latest on the financial situation at Derby
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