Paul Warne: Derby County squad needs summer 'surgery', says boss
- Published
Derby were rebuilt in League One this season after being relegated from the Championship while in administration last season
Boss Paul Warne says Derby County face a major rebuild in the summer.
Derby slipped out of the League One play-off spots after Saturday's 2-0 defeat by promotion chasing Ipswich.
Warne has not given up on a top-six finish, but says the squad put together in a month after Derby came out of administration last summer has "flaws".
"We might have enough in the building currently to finish the season well and to go up," Warne said. "But I'm aware that surgery's needed, I'm not stupid."
When Derbyshire property developer David Clowes brought the club out of administration, they had just five first-team players on their books at the time because of restrictions put on them as a result of the financial turmoil.
After former boss Wayne Rooney decided to leave the club after Clowes' move to become the Rams' new owner, it was Liam Rosenior who took temporary charge as manager and rebuilt the squad in the space of a month.
While Derby were able to revamp their squad - and brought in high-profile players such as Conor Hourihane and David McGoldrick - restrictions on transfer dealings have limited them to free transfers and loan deals.
It means that Derby have relied on the smallest squad in League One, using just 22 players this season.
Warne, who guided Rotherham to promotion from League One last season, inherited the squad when he was appointed as permanent head coach in September.
"We have a great group now but you can see that we have some flaws in it," Warne said. "I'm not blaming anyone for that, but we have.
"The lads have given me everything they have got and we will still be competitive for the last seven games and hopefully we will have enough to get in the play-offs."