Derby boss Rooney rejects approach from Everton

The former England and Manchester United captain had two spells with his boyhood club Everton as a player. However, the lure of a return to Goodison Park was not enough for Rooney to give up on the challenge of keeping the Rams in the second tier of English football despite a 21-point deduction due to financial problems.

Derby are second bottom of the Championship, but just eight points adrift of safety. "Everton approached my agent and asked me to interview for the vacant job, which I turned down," Rooney told a press conference. "I believe I will be a Premier League manager. I believe I'm ready for that, 100 per cent. And if that is with Everton one day in the future that would be absolutely great. But I've got a job here that I'm doing at Derby County which is an important job to me."