Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney has been linked with a return to management today, with John Percy of The Telegraph claiming that he has been approached by Championship side Plymouth Argyle to fill their managerial vacancy.
The ex-England captain was sacked by relegated Birmingham City in January, after just two wins from his 15 games in charge in the short two-month period where he replaced John Eustace and has not returned to management since. The Blues wanted to see Rooney guide the club to higher than the sixth-place position that they were in when Eustace was sacked, but unfortunately for him, his side did not hit the ground running.
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Nevertheless, Home Park could provide a fresh start for Rooney, who made a decent managerial name for himself with Derby County when they were favourites to get relegated from the second tier after a points deduction, and whilst in the end, he failed to keep them up, he certainly showed that he has got impressive managerial qualities about him, despite the disappointment suffered in his most recent job.
Plymouth Argyle secured survival on the final day of the season after sacking head coach Ian Foster before the final run-in after just three months in charge, which was the shortest tenure any manager has ever had at Home Park. The Pilgrims finished one place outside the relegation zone in the end and survived by a singular point and whilst the club will look to secure stability in the Championship next season, it is hard to think that at this moment in time, they will not be involved in a relegation battle come the end of the season.
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But the former Manchester United captain has shown from his challenging spell in charge at Derby that he has the pedigree to mount a real challenge to stay in the division, and should he take the position at Plymouth, he will definitely have another challenging job on his hands to keep key players such as Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker.
Writer’s View
This will be quite a bold appointment by Plymouth. After a stellar playing career with Manchester United at Old Trafford, the Red Devils’ all-time top goalscorer has had a mixed spell in management, doing relatively well with Derby but struggling with DC United in the MLS and failing disastrously at Birmingham.
However, the job with the Pilgrims in the Championship could offer Rooney a lifeline in his post-playing career. Should he do well at Home Park, he could salvage his reputation after such a dreadful time at St. Andrew’s.
