Wayne Rooney’s hopes of preventing Derby County from dropping from Championship into League One (third division) proved futile
after suffering a dramatic late defeat at Queens Park Rangers.
Luke Amos’ 88th-minute winner for QPR, coupled with Reading’s remarkable 4-4 draw against Swansea, consigned Rooney’s Derby to the drop to League One.
Relegation with three games to go means Derby will play in England’s third division for the first time since 1986.
Their fight for survival, in a campaign crippled by a 21-point deduction, could only have been prolonged if they equalled or bettered Reading’s result.
When Amos coolly slipped the ball past goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, their hopes of staying up had taken a major blow but were not over.
However, Tom McIntyre’s 95th-minute leveller for the Royals ended what dim hopes Derby had left.
If not for the 21-point deduction this season, for entering administration and breaching the EFL’s financial regulations, Derby would be 17th in the table and almost as close to the play-off places as the relegation spots.
Rooney’s future with Derby is also uncertain, with the 36-year-old linked with the vacant job at Premier League side Burnley.
Earlier this season he rejected an approach from boyhood club Everton to speak to them about taking charge at Goodison Park.
