Rooney’s first words after keeping Derby in Championship after crazy final day

Wayne Rooney described Derby's second-tier survival as a "rollercoaster" in his first interview since winning the relegation battle.

The Manchester United legend saw his side survive the Championship drop with a 3-3 draw against Sheffield Wednesday.

Having gone 1-0 down at half time, they were close to League 1 as Rotherham were beating Cardiff 1-0 in Wales.

But a Martyn Waghorn penalty on 78 minutes and a Bluebirds equaliser turned their fate around at Pride Park, keeping the Rams in the second tier.

And Rooney took the chance to highlight the need for improvement going into the 2021/22 season.

Speaking for the first time after the game to Sky Sports, the 35-year-old said: "It was a rollercoaster. The 90 minutes today almost sums up our season.

"Thankfully we've done what we set out to do. I'm delighted for the players because they've given me everything.

"We will get better, I can assure you of that. It's been a very difficult season – we need to make sure now we get everything sorted off the pitch."

Derby found themselves immediately on the back-foot with news from Wales as Lewis Wing drove a 30-yard shot into the bottom-left corner.

After a lengthy stoppage for injury, it was the additional minutes that put Rooney's side under pressure at half-time as Sam Hutchinson bundled a rebound into the net.

The United hero, though, managed to rouse his side during the break as Martyn Waghorn found the net just four minutes after the restart.

And Patrick Roberts' curling effort from outside the penalty box gave Derby hope of a survival with a 2-1, sitting two points ahead of Rotherham at the time.

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    • But seven minutes gave the home side a nightmare at Pride Park as Callum Paterson and Julian Borner struck for the visitors.

    There was room for one more twist, though, as Kamil Jozwiak won a penalty with 12 minutes to go which Waghorn converted – just as Marlon Pack scored an equaliser for Cardiff in the 88th minutes.

    At full-time, Derby survived the drop by one point as Wycombe Wanderers ' 3-0 win at Middlesbrough pushed them to 22nd, with Rotherham finishing two points away and Wednesday at the bottom.

    READ MORE:Wayne Rooney won't quit Derby as Man Utd icon refused to give up

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