Wayne Rooney: Derby County boss questions scheduling for Birmingham game

Derby County boss Wayne Rooney has criticised the decision to schedule a Friday game for his side at the end of the international break.

Rams winger Kamil Jozwiak played 80 minutes for Poland against England in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier.

And it means the 23-year-old will not be considered for the away Championship game against Birmingham City on Friday.

"I get it, the game's on TV, but I don't see why it couldn't have been 24 hours later on TV," said Rooney.

Jozwiak also played in Poland's win over Albania on 2 September and has made seven appearances so far this season for Derby, starting six times.

"I know he's young, but he's played the majority of the games for us and to not have him available for selection because our fixture gets put on a Friday night is frustrating as a manager," Rooney said.

"I have dealt with a lot in the last few months and this is just something else to deal with."

The Birmingham game begins a run of six fixtures in 22 days for Derby and Rooney is concerned about over-exerting his younger players, who are part of his squad as he was only able to bring in free agents this summer because of a transfer embargo.

"Sometimes you can push a player a bit further than he really should go, but I always have to be careful.

"If I push players and they do get injuries, I have very good young players who need a bit of time to get ready for this league and I'd have to rely on them, but it's not fair on them to throw them in before they are ready," he said.

"I don't think there should be games on a Friday (after an international break) - and it's the same for any of the teams in the Championship who've got international players away."