Gary Rowett appears set to leave Derby County for Championship rivals Stoke City, but could a Pride Park legend replace him at the Rams?
After just 14 months at Derby County, Gary Rowett appears to be on his way.
According to the BBC, Rowett has asked for permission to talk to Stoke City about the prospect of replacing Paul Lambert at the Bet 365 Stadium.
Stoke will be a Championship team next season after ten years in the Premier League, and the former Burton and Birmingham City man is allegedly keen to lead them back to the top flight after his Derby side fell at the play-off semi-final stage.
But do the Rams already have a replacement lined-up? Could a bona fide club legend be about to make a shock return to Pride Park? The fans seem to think so.
Igor Stimac was a hugely popular figure on the pitch at Derby between 1995 and 1999, inspiring the Rams to promotion in his debut season and eventually being voted into the fans’ greatest ever XI.
Stimac’s coaching career, however, has been rather less impressive. He led Hajduk Split to the Croatian League title in 2005 and managed the national team between 2012 and 2013 but spells at Zardar, Sepahan and Qatar outfit Al-Shahania have certainly damaged his reputation in the dugout.
But after posting an intriguing message on his official Facebook account, in which he claimed ‘maybe the time has come to go back home’ in response to rumours linking him to the post, Derby fans think he is in the frame to replace Rowett.
Not that they are too happy about it though.
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