Wayne Rooney expects Wycombe Wanderers to give his Derby County side “a tough game” as the Rams travel to Adams Park this evening.

Wanderers are currently 10 points from safety with Derby sitting two further points from the drop zone.

A win for Gareth Ainsworth’s men will see Wycombe close the gap on Derby to nine points and put slight pressure on the teams above them.

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England and Manchester United’s all-time leading goalscorer hung up his boots last month for good as Rooney took up full-time management at Derby.

He has seen four wins out of six since being handed to reigns permanently as he looks to push the Rams as far up the table as possible after a disappointing start to the season.

The Derby manager has reiterated the importance of not committing fouls to stop Wycombe from loading the box.

He told RamsTV: “[Wycombe] are very direct, they do not mess around, they don’t try and over-play.

“They get the ball forward and try to get it in the box, so we have to be ready for that.

“We must be prepared and not give silly free-kicks away in our own half and that they can get into the box.”

Gareth Ainsworth and Wayne Rooney embracing in the reverse fixture at Pride Park Stadium (Prime Media)

Gareth Ainsworth and Wayne Rooney embracing in the reverse fixture at Pride Park Stadium (Prime Media)

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Even though Wycombe sit bottom of the table Rooney insists his team will have to have “the right mindset” to come away with three points.

He continued: “We have to manage the game right.

If we do that then we will have a chance of getting a win.”

“We know it will be a tough game.

“I know they are at the bottom of the table, but every game in this league is a tough game so we must be professional.

“We have to go there with the right mindset, do our jobs and give ourselves the best chance to get the three points.”