Paul Warne has issued an emotional goodbye message to one of his Derby County players.
Derby sealed promotion back to the Championship on Saturday, as they defeated Carlisle United 2-0 at Pride Park.
After a two-season absence, The Rams are back in the second tier after amassing 92 points to finish in second place.
31,000 fans were in attendance to scream home the players in what was a final goodbye for some.
The opening goalscorer Max Bird, who riffled home a terrific left-footed effort, was one who played his last game in a Derby shirt.
Paul Warne issues an emotional goodbye message to Max Bird
Bird made his Derby debut at the age of 16 and has been an ever-present since, racking up 200 appearances.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a productive campaign in League One, netting six times whilst laying on seven assists from midfield.
That form led Bristol City to sign him during the January transfer window before allowing him to return for the remainder of the season on loan.
Bird played his last game for the club on Saturday and his manager Paul Warne issued an emotional goodbye message, speaking post-match.
“I’m really pleased for Birdy. He’s a beautiful human, a great kid and really wants to do well,” Warne said.
“Since I’ve been here, there has always been rumours of certain players going and with a heavy heart I knew he was going to be playing his football somewhere else in the summer.
“When you’ve done so long at a club, sometimes you need to open your wings and fly. It was a hard decision because Tommo has been doing really well but Birdy trained really well, looked excellent and I thought he would give us more of a goal threat.”
The Derby boss continued: “I’m a pretty emotional guy and I did have a bit of a weep inside when he scored. I know how much it means to him and I know how much it means to send off his time with this club with something great. When he came off I told him how proud of him I was. It was a fitting ending, 200 games, a great goal and justified my decision which makes me look great.”
Attention now turns toward the summer transfer window
With the gruelling 46-game campaign now finished, Derby chiefs can plan for the Championship, as the summer transfer window fast approaches.
The Rams have a whopping 15 players out of contract, so it’s set to be a very busy couple of months for the club.
Keeping ahold of Joe Wildsmith, who just won the Golden Glove award, has to be a top priority before anything else ensues.
Conor Hourihane is another who deserves a new deal, so that must be dealt with imminently, as the pair likely won’t be short of suitors.
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