Derby County haven’t yet announced Phillip Cocu’s arrival as their new manager.
With Frank Lampard set to take over at Chelsea, the Championship club moved quickly for Cocu, who was last in work at Fenerbahce.
At the start of the claims, it was made clear in the Dutch media that the 48 year old was somewhat hesitant. This wasn’t just about Derby specifically, there seemed a general cautiousness about his next step.
De Telegraaf explain it well in their Wednesday edition.
His experience in Turkey is described as ‘hellish’, with the Dutch newspaper saying: ‘The three Turkish trainers in the staff had made a conspiracy against Cocu and his assistants. They constantly provided secret information from the dressing room to the outside.’
There’s now confidence that nothing like this will happen at Derby County, although he is expected to have an English coach among his staff.
Agent Rob Jansen is said to have been working on the details of the agreement. It’s not simply about money, but also the ‘interpretation of the staff’. He’s also ‘demanded guarantees’ from Mel Morris about the squad being improved ahead of the new season.
For Cocu, it’s crucial that he has a team able to fight for promotion to the Premier League, something that would help put the Istanbul nightmare behind him.
Chris van der Weerden, who was also with Cocu in Turkey, will join him. Yesterday, it was reported in the Netherlands that Twan Scheepers will be part of the staff, and today we covered claims from Turkey saying Ernest Faber, who had been targeted for a Super Lig move, will be moving from his role as PSV’s academy chief.
