The former Derby County boss has spoken about how he left the club back in 2018.
Former Derby County boss Gary Rowett’s time at the club was certainly one that ended abruptly.
The Rams boss had asked previous Derby County owner Mel Morris for permission to speak to fellow Championship club Stoke City following the conclusion of the 2017/18 season, and it was certainly a shock move from Rowett, who had just finished in a massively respectable 6th place, only to lose to Fulham in the play-off semi finals.
Rowett’s time at Stoke City offered very little success to both the club and his career, leading to his departure only months after he first took the job.
It seems that Rowett has regrets over how it was dealt with, and he has spoken about how he moved on to the recently-relegated Premier League side.
Gary Rowett opens up on Derby County exit
Rowett has made it clear that his tenure at Derby County ended far from perfectly, and there are certain regrets about the entire situation.
Speaking to BBC Derby, Rowett said: “Yeah I do [regret how it ended], but you can’t always choose the ending and you can’t always choose the narrative afterwards.
“Look, the clubs control the narrative don’t they.
“It’s not something I necessarily want to talk about in great detail about but when I left I had the opportunity to leave to Stoke in the Premier League in January. It was a hell of a lot more money than I was earning but it wasn’t the right thing to do.”
Whilst Rowett initially stuck with the Rams for the rest of the season following an initial approach from the Premier League side, following Derby County’s desire to ‘go down a different route’, he made a move for Stoke City.
Did Gary Rowett jump ship to Stoke City
There has been various debate on whether or not the former Derby County boss jumped from a sinking ship with his move to Stoke City.
Financial cracks at the Rams were initially beginning to show, and Rowett went elsewhere in the Championship.
However, Rowett stuck with Derby County until he felt like he had finished his job, as opposed to looking elsewhere during the course of the 2017/18 season.
Whilst Rowett’s managerial departure from Derby County didn’t exactly come at a brilliant time, he must be paid his dues for not jumping during a promotion chase for the Rams, and whilst they fell at the final hurdle, it was still during Rowett’s tenure, who turned down an initial approach to manage in the Premier League in order to stick to his job with the Rams.
