his contract with an 84th-minute equalizer in a 1–1 draw (the third consecutive East Midlands Derby to end in that scoreline) as Derby gave what Rooney described as a mixed performance, saying "30-35 minutes we were excellent (but in the) second half we weren't good." In mid-February, club-owner Mel Morris gave an interview discussing the situation surrounding the takeover of the club. He stated that the deal was "still live" as there was "a contractual obligation to sell and a contractual obligation to buy" though he couldn't talk about it due to "a very strict Non-disclosure agreement." He also revealed that his decision to sell the club came after a year of significant personal and health problems, some of which were related to the COVID-19 pandemic. An article in The Guardian commented that Derby County no longer owned their own stadium (land registry documents suggested it had been sold to "Rams Investment Limited" a company with links to the Swiss-Turkish businessman Henry Gabay, though the club denied this) and had taken two loans totalling over £30m-loan from MSD Holdings (one of which was secured against Moor Farm). March March began with three consecutive away games; a 4–0 defeat away to Cardiff City, the joint biggest defeat of the season, a 1–0 away loss at relegation rivals Coventry City and a 0–0 draw at in-form Barnsley, which ended the home side's seven-match winning streak. Two home games also failed to yield any wins - a 1–0 defeat to Millwall, a first home reverse in two months, was followed by a 2–2 draw with Brentford, which saw Derby come from 2–0 down at half time to claim a point thanks to Louie Sibley's 86th-minute equalizer, his first goal of the season. In the final game of the month, Derby lost 1–0 away to Stoke City, resulting in March yielding no wins, two points from a possible 18 and only two goals scored. Now winless in seven, Derby went into the international break only five points clear of relegation, with 22nd-placed Rotherham having four games in hand. When discussing recent form, Rooney admitted "We look at ourselves, that's all we can do... but obviously the run of form over the last few weeks has not been good enough. We know, if we did not know beforehand, we are in a relegation battle." With the takeover dealings with Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan entered