Pressure piles on former Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney

Former Birmingham City manager Wayne Rooney's turbulent time at Plymouth saw his side fall to 23rd in the Championship following a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Swansea.

Jay Fulton and Liam Cullen gave Swansea a two-goal lead, but despite a late goal from Mustapha Bundu, Argyle couldn't avoid their third consecutive loss.

Rooney shared: "I am frustrated and disappointed."

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He felt his team had the upper hand initially, saying, "I felt we were the better team in the first half and after the first 10 minutes we played some good football."

However, he acknowledged the turning point: "Then we get hit by a sucker punch, the goal."

Rooney admitted the second half was challenging: "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."

Despite a glimmer of hope after scoring, Rooney conceded, "We can’t really keep relying on getting late goals."

He praised his team's effort to contain Swansea's key player: "I thought we did well to nullify (Matt) Grimes who is their main threat, because he’s a really good player."

Yet, he recognized the issues that need addressing: "We know we are conceding too many goals – a lack of concentration and a bit of naivety has cost us."

Rooney 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."

He remained hopeful after their first goal: "Once you get that first goal you have something to hold on to."

Acknowledging the tough period for the team, Rooney said, "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."

After suffering heavy losses to Norwich and Bristol City, the spotlight is certainly on Derby's Wayne Rooney. Contrastingly, Swansea's Luke Williams expressed his satisfaction with their progress up to ninth in the table, commenting: "We are still a work in progress and we can see we are creating better chances as we go on."

He elaborated on the game's dynamics, saying, "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."

Williams noted the resilience his team showed: "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."

Despite creating opportunities, Williams pointed out, "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."

The Swansea boss acknowledged some shortcomings but remained positive, "We stuttered a bit and we lost a bit of control. Over the 90 minutes I thought we were just about value for victory."

He praised Josh Tymon's assist for the first goal, referring to it as "a really good delivery... ferocious, really difficult to deal with and that’s why it pops out for Jay Fulton and he was so calm."

Commenting on the composure in front of goal, he said, "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."

Williams also highlighted Myles Peart-Harris' contribution, "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."