Derby County must not be allowed to die - it would be stain on English football

Derby County must not be allowed to die.

This is a football institution Brian Clough led to the title 50 years ago. What an insult to he great man's memory if the golden anniversary of his achievement was desecrated by extinction.

This is also a football club I was proud to captain - and where I brought the curtain down on my playing career.

There is still hope. While Wayne Rooney, who is on the shortlist to succeed Rafa Benitez at Everton, remains at Pride Park as the standard-bearer for survival, there is a leader for the fans to rally behind.

But even Rooney, one of English football's greats, cannot solve the mess and the financial maze. The club needs leadership from governing bodies - fast.

My heart goes out to Derby fans because I have seen for myself, in the ruins of a club we inherited at Macclesfield, how upsetting liquidation is for everyone involved.

We cannot have Derby County going the same way as Macclesfield and Bury. That would be a stain on English football. It simply cannot be allowed to happen.

The effects on long-serving club staff, and everyone connected with Derby, would be catastrophic.

After speaking to senior people at the club, the administrators and friends this week, I get the feeling it will not come down to that.

But as one MP put it, Derby's predicament is like a jumbo jet searching for a landing slot: The plane can't stay in the sky for ever, and if it runs out of fuel, or can't find a strip of runway to land safely, the consequences would be unthinkable.

It is a complex legal minefield, and I would need a law degree to understand all of it, but it calls for strong and decisive leadership.

In that regard, I would say to the EFL: Derby County is one of your member clubs, the Championship is your competition, you make the rules.

The Rams have already been deducted 21 points for issues unconnected with football on the pitch. Enough is enough - when Luton Town were deducted 30 points in a single season, they dropped out of the League for five years. Derby fans have suffered enough.

My understanding is that the administrators are not asking the EFL to rule on the merits of Middlesbrough and Wycombe's cases, but simply to tell them whether - under their own rules - Boro and Wycombe, who have outstanding legal claims against Derby, should be treated as football creditors (who must be paid 100 per cent of what they are owed).

Or, if they are non-football creditors, whether they would be entitled to a percentage of any claims - if they were successful.

Clearly this is a major hurdle that needs clarification from the EFL as regulator, as it makes a massive difference to the purchase price for any potential buyer of the club.

My understanding is also that Boro chairman Steve Gibson does not want to see Derby go out of existence and is prepared to compromise.

That's the magic word - compromise. Where there are parties offering to give ground, there must be hope for a solution. For the good of football, I would suggest the EFL brings everyone round a table to establish the framework for a deal.

As for Rooney, I can understand why the Everton job would pull on his heart-strings. The chance to manage his boyhood club, where he made such a dramatic impact as a 16-year-old, would be an overwhelming temptation.

But he is picking his way through a crisis at Pride Park that most managers will never experience - and he is doing a brilliant job.

If he keeps Derby up, after they were docked 21 points, it would go down as one of the greatest football miracles.

He lost Phil Jagielka and Graeme Shinnie last week - and his players responded with a 2-0 win against Sheffield United where the fans' passion for survival was almost tangible. The threat of liquidation has galvanised them.

And if Rooney is still there on the bridge when Derby is sold and their future is secured, he will go down as a legend who oversaw the club's rescue from the jaws of extinction.

Nobody would blame him if Everton offered him the manager's job at Goodison Park and he left.

But Rooney was a fighter as a player - and my gut feeling is that he wants to see the fight to save Derby through to its conclusion. The Everton job will come up again. It will be his job one day.

I believe the EFL have all the evidence they need to determine Derby's fate - and perhaps Rooney's future, too. I believe there are buyers waiting in the wings.

Let's get round the table and thrash it out.