Mel Morris has double David Clowes wish as he speaks out on 'agonising' Derby County decision

Former Derby County owner Mel Morris hopes David Clowes has more success and more luck than he did during his reign at Pride Park.

Morris was speaking to Jimmy's Jobs of the Future podcast in which he looked back at his time in charge of the club, which he put into administration in September 2021.

Businessman Morris spent more than £200m in his bid to take Derby to the Premier League but the Rams fell short in their attempt to return to the top table of English football.

But the financial demands became too much in what was another cautionary tale for English football in the bid to clinch a golden ticket to the top flight.

Morris subsequently put the club into administration and it was not until local businessman and die-hard fan David Clowes came to the rescue in July 2022 that Derby's future was secure.

Since then Clowes has overseen the club's rise from the ashes of administration to League One promotion winners as the club returned to the second tier in the 2023/24 season.

The long-term objective is to see Derby compete for a place in the Premier League again under head coach John Eustace.

Reflecting on his time at Derby, and asked what the thought process was behind putting the club into administration, Morris said: "It was agonising and I think that to me it was the hardest decision ever.

"The easy one is just to keep going and keep going, but I knew I had to fund the administration process because otherwise, the club would have disappeared.

"I had to make sure there was funding there for the payroll in administration, right, because that was critical to keep that going.

"Credit to David for stepping up and picking the club up. And I say I only have two wishes there.

"One is that he has more luck than I had, and also has more success than I had. I'm really keen to see the club succeed.

"This is why I don't give many interviews. I don't see the point because it doesn't help the club."