The Rams head coach explained what behaviour he won’t tolerate as he prepares to make some difficult decisions this weekend
Paul Warne won’t tolerate sulking at Derby County if players are unhappy at being left out of his squad and says it will be “disrespectful” to their team-mates.
Derby’s head coach has some difficult decisions to make for this weekend’s clash against Cardiff City with Nat Phillips and Marcus Harness set to come into contention after their deadline day arrivals.
With a squad of 25 players, four will have to be left out of the matchday squad as a result. Warne revealed that he held a meeting with the players this summer about the attitude he expects and said players were free to leave if they disagreed.
Warne expects players to be frustrated if they are not involved, but wants them to react the right way rather than affect the rest of the group by downing tools. Asked how he will handle the decisions to leave players out, Warne said: “It’s a bit like someone coming around to tell you they’ve repossessed your house. If they do it with a smile or anger, the outcome is still the same, isn’t it?
“I think I’ve always tried to manage the group with a real integrity and honesty, and I enjoy doing it that way because in the tough moments it’s easier to give bad news, and I think we both respectfully take it. Everybody at the football club in the first team squad is a first team player which is great. But I did say to all of them all summer before the window shutting that this is how it is in that there will be times when players are frustrated (at being left out)
“I said if it isn’t for you, you need to leave before the window shuts. I had that meeting as a group and I had it with a few individuals where I told them you might feel like you’ll get more game time somewhere else, but if you want to stay here and fight for your place that’s fine. But if I see your attitude waiver in any way, then you’re done with me. If I see any of that, I just send someone in from training and I’ll let them train with the 21s. I honestly feel like there’s respect between myself and the players, the staff, and vice versa
“But there is a line you can’t cross, and I would 100 per cent back that. If someone has got an issue with not being in the team, if they train hard and come and see me every day, 100 per cent that’s fine. I have no issue with that, I’ll tell you, it’s straight and I’ll tell you the same thing every day. I’ll record it, I’ll send it to you, I’ll do a voice tag, whatever you want. But not training well or sulking in training, that’s disrespectful to the whole group and I will not have that.
“Not that this is that important, but I remember at my dad’s funeral there were loads of people telling me stories and all that. One person told me my dad had the most integrity of any person he had ever met and I thought ‘wow, that’s nice’. Of all the things someone can say about you, I think that’s the best, That’s how I do it or try to do it with the players.”
