Derby County captain Richard Keogh believes that the Derby players must shoulder some of the blame for the sacking of Steve McClaren.
Steve McClaren was sacked for the second time by Derby on Sunday evening
As reported by the Derby Telegraph, the Rams skipper believes that performances and results have not been good enough in recent weeks and have take some responsibility for the fate suffered by McClaren.
The ex England and Newcastle boss was dismissed for a second time by Derby at the weekend, following the 3-0 defeat suffered at promotion hopefuls Brighton and Hove Albion.
A retched run of just one win in nine games has seen Derby slip from a place in to top six to 10th in the league with just nine games remaining, This was enough to convince chairman Mel Morris to relieve McClaren of his duties after only returning to the club in October. He was replaced with the former Birmingham City manager and Rams defender Gary Rowett on Tuesday.
Keogh admitted that the news of McClaren’s departure came as a surprise.
“It was, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t but this crazy world we call football is getting crazier by the year and you can never rule anything out.”
When asked what went wrong for McClaren, the Republic of Ireland skipper was unable to pinpoint a particular reason. He continued: “I don’t think it was loads that was wrong.
“We went through a patch where the team was not performing to its best for whatever reason.
Derby’s Richard Keogh
“I think when Steve first came in we lost one of 15 games, which was very positive but football changes very quickly and we have not been playing to the best of ability.
“The game against Brighton was not a good performance.”
Keogh has missed the last four league games after picking an injury in last month’s defeat the Aston Villa. This ended a run of 105 consecutive league starts for his side.
“It is not nice to see managers lose their jobs and it is not ideal but as players, it is about being professional and working with the new gaffer.
“We can only affect what goes on the field and we have got to take some responsibility as players, we have to.
“You have to look at yourself in the mirror. You know if you go out there you have to give 100% and may be in the last few games we haven’t shown that.
“Everyone goes through times when you are not at your best but as long as you try 100% that’s all that matters.”
Steve McClaren’s second spell in charge at Derby lasted just over five months
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