'Wazza is all about details - I was so impressed': Rio Ferdinand reveals Wayne Rooney the manager is 'different to who I saw grow up at Man United' after visiting him at Derby as he backs his old team-mate to make a stunning return to Everton

Rio Ferdinand has delivered a glowing appraisal of Wayne Rooney’s attributes as a manager amid his old Manchester United team-mate’s links to the Everton job.

The Toffees axed Rafa Benitez on Sunday after a perilous run of one win in 13 Premier League matches and Rooney has been linked with a sensational return to his boyhood club as manager.

The Everton hero is currently at Derby, where they are 23rd in The Championship but have been deducted 21 points due to their off-field financial issues and placed under a transfer embargo. Without that, they’d be 11th but Rooney is miraculously keeping hopes of avoiding relegation alive with The Rams eight points off safety.

Rio Ferdinand has given a superb assessment of Wayne Rooney’s managerial credentials

Rooney is defying the odds at Derby by keeping hope of Championship survival alive

Speaking on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel, Ferdinand lifted the lid on how Rooney the manager works after visiting him on the training ground. 

‘It is such a different person behind closed doors,’ Ferdinand said. ‘Yes they are a young squad, he has given out a hell of a lot of debuts but their reactions, they are transfixed. He spoke with such authority and a calmness, didn’t waste a word. 

”A lot of things he was saying was about trust – “I trust you, I believe in all of you” – and you can see why they have that fight for him and that togetherness. He is instilling it with his staff.

‘I saw a different Wayne Rooney to the one I grew up with and saw grow up at Man United, it was a real positive experience. It was the confidence and I didn’t expect it from such a young coach. 

”I thought there’d be a lot of “ermmmm” – you see the interviews, no disrespect – but he was just calm man, I was so impressed. The results he is getting off the back of it, I’m not surprised.

‘Wazza is good at detail, his game was about detail. People would think it was hustle and bustle and bang, a shot out of nowhere but to be the player he was you had to understand details and it is about translating that into the team. 

‘He was taking people off to the side saying “I want this, I want that” and it was really good. I’m not saying he is the next Sir Alex or the next Pep but he is on the right track’.

Derby have been deducted 21 points this season but would be 11th without the sanctions

Ferdinand reckons Rooney would struggle to turn down the Everton job if it was offered to him

Ferdinand admitted that he thinks in an ideal world, Rooney would head to Goodison Park in the summer after finishing the season with Derby – but doubts he’ll have the luxury of time. 

‘You take the job in a heartbeat (if you’re Rooney),’ Ferdinand said. ‘If he could have it his way, I’m sure he’d say “listen, keep Big Dunc as the interim, let me keep Derby up and I’ll be there in the summer” but that’s hugely unlikely. 

‘(Roberto) Martinez has got to relinquish going to the World Cup (with Belgium). You can see Rooney – boyhood club and Big Dunc is his mate, his idol growing up, knows the fabric of the club.’