The Rams appointed the Dutch boss and multiple Eredivisie champion last week.
Derby County new-boy Graeme Shinnie has shared what kind of football style new Rams manager Phillip Cocu wants his players to adopt, in turn giving an insight into what the Pride Park fanbase could expect to see on the pitch this coming season.
The former Netherlands international was confirmed as Frank Lampard’s managerial successor last week, penning a four-year contract, and joins having previously won three Eredivisie titles as PSV Eindhoven boss between 2015 and 2018.
Shinnie, who joined Derby on a pre-contract and agreed a three-year deal ahead of his Aberdeen contract expiring, is with the Rams contingent at a training camp in Florida, and has been impressed with what he has seen so far of Cocu and his philosophy, suggesting that flowing, attacking football is on the cards next term.
“The new manager has come in and has his own style that he likes to play,” Shinnie told Rams TV. “I wasn’t here last year so I’m not fully aware of how Frank Lampard and his staff worked, but when a new manager comes in you always spend the first few days trying to get to know him and get to know how he wants to play. The boys have certainly done that.
“Training has been really enjoyable and it’s good for the future. It’s all sort of ball work with what he wants to do. It’s very technical. He wants to have us passing it, keeping the ball and retaining it but with penetration as well in going forward. It’s not just about having the ball to have possession, so we’re still getting to know him and getting to know his ways but we are getting there slowly but surely.”
Derby play their first friendly of pre-season on Wednesday night (11pm BST as per the Rams website) when they face local side Sarasota Metropolis at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Cocu’s first competitive fixture in the Derby dugout will be their Championship season opener at Huddersfield Town on Monday 5 August 2019.
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