What next for Wayne Rooney? Former Derby County boss suffers more misery

Former Derby County boss Wayne Rooney continues to struggle at Plymouth and has expressed his disappointment after Argyle dropped to 23rd place in the Championship following a 2-1 defeat against Swansea.

Goals from Jay Fulton and Liam Cullen gave Swansea a solid lead by the hour mark, and despite Mustapha Bundu's late consolation for Argyle, the side suffered their third consecutive loss.

It has left a big question mark over what happens next for Rooney if the situation continues to fail to improve.

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Rooney shared his frustrations, saying: "I am frustrated and disappointed."

He believed his team outperformed the opposition initially, remarking, "I felt we were the better team in the first half and after the first 10 minutes we played some good football."

However, he described Swansea's first goal as a blow, adding, "Then we get hit by a sucker punch, the goal."

Acknowledging the pressure they faced, Rooney said, "Second half they put us on the back foot. For their second goal we had three players around the ball but don’t stop the cross coming in."

He saw promise when Argyle scored, noting, "When we got the goal back there was some momentum there and we looked as though we might go on and score (again)."

Still, he emphasised the need for change: "We can’t really keep relying on getting late goals."

On their defensive strategy, he commented, "I thought we did well to nullify (Matt) Grimes who is their main threat, because he’s a really good player."

Yet, he admitted to shortcomings: "We know we are conceding too many goals – a lack of concentration and a bit of naivety has cost us."

Rooney also reflected on the timing of the goals against them: "The first goal coming just before half-time makes it difficult for us. Going two down makes it really difficult for us."

While seeing value in early leads, "Once you get that first goal you have something to hold on to," he couldn't ignore current challenges: "There’s no denying we know we are going through a difficult time. We are without four key players but tonight was an improvement on the last two results."

Despite recent heavy losses to Norwich and Bristol City putting him under scrutiny, Derby County manager Wayne Rooney knows the pressure isn’t letting up. Meanwhile, Swansea boss Luke Williams was thrilled with his team's performance as they climbed to ninth place.

He expressed his contentment, saying, "We are still a work in progress and we can see we are creating better chances as we go on."

Furthermore, he noted the competitive nature of the match: "We made some good openings in the game. I just think it ebbed and flowed and we lost control a few times and we had to show another side to our game."

Explaining the challenges faced, he added, "We had to be tough at times. Of course the last 15 minutes is really tough, like a basketball match. I think overall we deserved the victory."

Williams believes that taking chances is crucial to earning wins: "We created some really good openings early on which didn’t amount to a chance, as well as a few good chances, but you don’t deserve it if you don’t take those chances when they come."

Reflecting on the game's dynamics, he said, "We stuttered a bit and we lost a bit of control. Over the 90 minutes I thought we were just about value for victory."

Praising his players, he mentioned, "It was a really good delivery from Josh Tymon for the first goal, it was ferocious, really difficult to deal with and that’s why it pops out for Jay Fulton and he was so calm."

Commending Jay Fulton's finish, he remarked, "You could snatch at this one so easily or you could hit bodies that are in the way but he tucked it away really calmly."

Lastly, he praised Myles Peart-Harris for his role in the second goal: "It was really good wide play from Myles Peart-Harris for the second because he delivers it brilliantly well and Liam Cullen can play like a 10 or an out-and-out nine, which is really fortunate for me, and he finished like a proper nine."