It's nice to get back on the pitch': Wayne Rooney insists he wants to play EVERY game for Derby at the age of 34 after making winning start to life at Pride Park... and he'll do it with the armband after taking over from Curtis Davies as captain
Wayne Rooney says he wants to 'play in every game' after making an impressive debut for Derby County in their 2-1 win over Barnsley.
Rooney set up Jack Marriott with a brilliant free-kick for Derby's opener and then fired a brilliant cross-field ball to Andre Wisdom in the build-up to their second goal.
The 34-year-old was expected to start on the bench but played the full 90 minutes and now has his sights set on playing in Derby's clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday.
'It was nice, I've been training for a long time now so it's nice to get back on the pitch,' he told Derby's official website. 'I felt good but the most important thing for us was the three points.
'Anyone who knows me knows that I want to play in every game. I have to recover quickly now, it's a quick turnaround. I'll get a good recovery session in and try and be ready for Sunday.'
Rooney was handed the captain's armband for his debut and Derby boss Philip Cocu later revealed he will be skipper on a permanent basis.
Curtis Davies was captain prior to Rooney's arrival but the 34-year-old said he was happy to take over after speaking to the centre-back.
He added: 'The manager stressed to me that he wanted me to be captain but myself and the manager spoke with Curtis, we felt he'd done a fantastic job but from now on I'll take over.'
Derbywere boosted by a bumper crowd of 27,782 for the game as fans flocked to see Rooney in action and the former Manchester United man admitted he was thrilled with the reaction.
'[It was] a great reception from the crowd. I've been to all the games in the last month and they've given me a great reception each time.'
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