Darren Paul James Wassall (born 27 June 1968) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player who played as a defender. He has been academy director of

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

since 2009; he was also the club's head coach on a temporary basis during 2016. He played for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, Derby County,

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

and

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...

, and also had loan spells with

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, making a total of 177

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

appearances.

Footballer

Wassall began his career in 1984 at

, where he was a product of the youth system. He failed to win a regular first-team place, although he was a reliable stand-in to the likes of

Des Walker Desmond Sinclair Walker (born 26 November 1965) is an English football coach and former player, who played as a defender. At club level he played in seven cup finals for Nottingham Forest at Wembley, winning five of them. He was Forest's play ...

, and was loaned out to

and

. Despite his limited opportunities, Wassall featured in two finals for Forest, winning a medal in the 1992 Full Members Cup 3–2 victory over

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

(having scored his one and only Forest goal in the semi-final second leg against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

at the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when E ...

) and playing in the 1–0 defeat in the 1992 Football League Cup Final against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. He left Forest for

in 1992 in a £600,000 deal, and after an alleged dressing-room incident with manager

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...

. While at Derby, he had loan spells at

and

. Wassall joined Birmingham full-time in 1997 in a £150,000 deal, but he struggled with injuries. After suffering an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

injury, he left

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and played for

. During his spell at Burton, Wassall scored in the 4–2 FA Cup defeat to Kidderminster Harriers in November 2000. He retired altogether in 2005.

Manager

After retiring as a player, in 2005, Wassall took charge of Burton's youth team. In 2009, Wassall became academy manager at

under

Nigel Clough Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was c ...

. He has been credited with bringing through a number of players to Derby's first team, such as Mark O'Brien,

Callum Ball Callum Reece Ball (born 8 October 1992) is an English professional footballer. He last played as a striker for Stratford Town. Playing career Derby County Ball joined Derby County's youth system at the age of 9 from local rivals Nottingham ...

Jeff Hendrick Jeffrey Patrick Hendrick (born 31 January 1992) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Newcastle United, and the Republic of Ireland national team. Hendrick spent his childhood years with boyhood club St. Kev ...

Mason Bennett Mason Kane Bennett (born 15 July 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for League One club Burton Albion. He has also represented England Youth at U-16 and U-17 Level. He holds the record as Derby County's youngest- ...

and

Will Hughes William James Hughes (born 17 April 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Crystal Palace. Having graduated a scholarship with Derby County, Hughes made his first team breakthrough during t ...

. In May 2013, Wassall was rewarded for his work, winning the President's Award at the club's awards night. In September 2013, Clough was sacked by Derby County, and his backroom staff were sent on

gardening leave Garden leave (also known as gardening leave) is the practice whereby an employee leaving a job – having resigned or otherwise had their employment terminated – is instructed to stay away from work during the notice period, while still remainin ...

. Wassall remained at the club, continuing his work with the youth academy under the tenure of new head coach

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching care ...

. Clough had stated in March 2013: "The academy should almost be ring fenced and whoever comes in next, I hope they have the sense to leave it alone and let it continue working." After McClaren's successor

Paul Clement Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American lawyer who served as U.S. Solicitor General from 2004 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court. He established his own law firm, Clement & Murphy, in 2022 after le ...

was sacked in February 2016, Wassall was appointed head coach until the end of the season. He returned to his post of academy director on 27 May 2016, when

Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, currently the manager of Championship club Bristol City. During his playing career, he was a defender and played for Shrewsbury Town, Shef ...

signed a three-year contract to manage Derby County.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wassall, Darren 1968 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Edgbaston English footballers Association football defenders Nottingham Forest F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Bury F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players Derby County F.C. non-playing staff English football managers Derby County F.C. managers English Football League managers