England’s record goalscorer watched his side fall to their sixth straight loss, meaning the fight to stay in the Championship is out of their hands.
The Rams must beat Sheffield Wednesday next weekend and hope Rotherham lose one of their two remaining matches if they are to avoid slipping into the third tier for the first time in 35 years.
They were on course to beat the drop when Tom Lawrence headed home two minutes into the second half, but two goals in two minutes from Morgan Whittaker and Connor Roberts condemned them to another defeat.
“We leave ourselves with one game left of the season and we have to win,” said Rooney said. “We’ll certainly see who the men are and see which players can stand up and be counted for the game.
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