Given Wayne Rooney’s managerial career to date, not to mention his previous confessions of binge-drinking, it is difficult to avoid characterising his move to Plymouth as a trip to the last-chance saloon. The former England captain will begin his fourth job in just over two years when Plymouth Argyle visit Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, and even the club’s owner, Simon Hallett, admits it is now or never for his surprise appointment.
“Wayne needs to succeed,” Hallett tells the Guardian. “If he can’t succeed here then perhaps he should become a TV pundit.”
Rooney joked when unveiled last month that he took the Plymouth job because he didn’t want “to become the next Gary Neville” but was in a more studious mood at Home Park 48 hours before the serious business begins. The 38-year-old looked relaxed in his new surroundings, however, pointing out that pressure has been a constant companion since he was a schoolboy.
“You’re always trying to prove a point, whatever line of work you’re in,” Rooney says. “I wouldn’t be doing my job for the club if I didn’t have a point to prove. I’ve had pressure since I was 16 and got into Everton’s first team.
“I’m someone who believes in what I do – that’s what keeps me going. There’s always going to be doubters. I could go and win the Championship with Argyle and there’d still be doubters.”
Winning a few games would be a start after a disastrous reign at Birmingham last season that brought two victories in 15 matches and appeared to confirm a managerial story of diminishing returns.
After emerging with credit from a futile relegation battle at Derby while under a transfer embargo and hit with two points deductions, Rooney endured the disappointment of being unable to reach the MLS playoffs at DC United last year, followed by those 83 days at Birmingham, which ended with his abrupt sacking in January.
Seven months on that failure has been reappraised, with a senior Birmingham executive telling the Guardian that the club dealt Rooney a poor hand. “You could have put Pep Guardiola in charge of that squad and he wouldn’t have fixed it,” they say.
Rooney has been itching to get back to work ever since, asking his agent to contact Plymouth after Ian Foster was sacked in April. His motivation cannot have been financial, with his salary of about £500,000 modest even by Championship standards.
“Nobody was more surprised than me that we ended up with Wayne,” Hallett says. “I’m not interested in celebrity so his playing career wasn’t a positive. He got the job despite his name, not because of it.
“Wayne has established relationships at the club very quickly, and has literally broken walls down to do it. The coaching and recruitment team used to be in separate offices, but he wanted them together so we knocked a wall down.”
Equally, Rooney has bought into Plymouth’s existing structures, with the assistant manager Pete Shuttleworth, his No 2 since Derby, his only appointment. The pair are sharing a flat in the city centre, with Rooney content to let Shuttleworth run most of the training sessions while he observes from the sidelines.
Rooney appears to have modelled his managerial style on Sir Alex Ferguson and Roy Hodgson, the biggest influences on his playing career. Although he works players hard there are also lighter moments, with some expressing surprise at his willingness to tell stories against himself, often involving his own misadventures.
“It’s important the players feel they can talk to you, about things that are happening on and off the pitch,” Rooney says. “They know they can come to me if they have a problem.”
The ultimate indication of Rooney’s affability is perhaps his ability to stay on good terms with his former England teammate Jamie Vardy despite the ill-feeling between their wives. The celebrity circus has yet to hit Plymouth, with Rooney’s family remaining in Cheshire, but Coleen attended at least one pre-season friendly and is expected at some matches.
Rooney has embraced the autograph hunters and appears to have won over the fans, many of whom were initially sceptical. There were a smattering of “Rooney 10” shirts among those hanging around Home Park, which is sold out for all matches for which tickets have been released. Even small touches such as referring to the club as Argyle have been appreciated by supporters.
While Rooney’s previous managerial jobs were the product of circumstances – he was a player at Derby and DC United and actively courted by Birmingham’s American owners – seeking out Plymouth may prove a shrewd move. The club have a history of giving managers time, with Ryan Lowe getting a new contract in 2021 less than two months after a run of six successive league defeats, and their expectations appear to be realistic. After avoiding relegation to League One by a point last season the target is simply to stay up with more to spare.
“Success for Plymouth is overperforming the budget, so if we can finish 16th or above I’d be delighted,” Hallett says.
Rooney wants more, for the club and his immense personal ambitions. “It’s an inner drive, which many different people have in different walks of life,” he says. “My drive is to be involved in football. When I stopped playing I went into management the same day at Derby. I had a short break, maybe a week, before I went to DC United. Then 48 hours before going to Birmingham.
“Before coming to Argyle I had a break of a few months, which was good. It gave me time to reflect on what I’d done as a coach. It was very helpful to have that time, but the hunger to get back in was huge. I’m not someone who would like to go and sit at home. I have that desire. Some players who played at the top level aren’t willing to try things outside the box, but I want to do that. I want to be great.”
