Rams Defend Shackell Sale

Derby County have defended the decision to sell Jason Shackell for an undisclosed fee to Championship rivals Burnley by saying the move was made to allow Nigel Clough to strengthen the squad in other areas.

With angry reactions to the sale from some Derby fans, with a handful of fans asking for a refund on season tickets, Tom Glick has gone on record to provide the reasoning behind the decision after the Manchester City bound Chief Executive had previously said it would take a lot to prise Shackell away from Pride Park and that he expected the defender to be at the club at the start of the season.

Despite the signing of Paul Coutts some fans have questioned The Rams' ambition following the sale and the lack of a direct replacement so far although asked the fans to judge the club at the end of the transfer window when all of the transfer deals have been done. Talking to the Derby Evening Telegraph Glick said:

'Ultimately, our objective has been and continues to be improving the squad overall and we felt that doing the deal to sell Jason allows us to take the funds generated and the wages saved and reinvest in the centre-half position and a couple of other positions to strengthen us overall.

Unfortunately, we did not have a centre-half replacement on the same day and so we are taking it on the chin right now. We are continuing to pursue targets and feel very confident in our ability to find a replacement and make improvements in other positions.'

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