Wayne Rooney Plymouth sack latest: Nightmare run, Coleen pressure, new appointment

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney suffered yet another managerial blow at the weekend, with the now manager looking to turn the season around at Championship side Plymouth Argyle.

Since retiring from playing in January 2021, the former striker has been making his way into the managerial scene. He started out at Derby County, before a 15 month spell with Major League Soccer (MLS) side D.C United.

The 39-year-old then returned to England to take over for an ill-fated spell with Birmingham City. He was then out of a job for six months after leaving the club after just 15 games, but was appointed as Plymouth Argyle boss in the summer.

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This season has not yet gone to plan for the former United man with some fans, at one point, even calling for him to resign. He has, however, been given time to try and turn his team's form around.

With that in mind, here is the latest on Rooney's position at Plymouth Argyle;

Pressure mounts

Plymouth sit in the Championship relegation zone after falling to their third loss in a row on Tuesday night with a 2-1 defeat against Swansea City. It means Rooney's team are winless in their last five games and have won just one of their last 10 Championship matches.

That has, therefore, increased the pressure on Rooney. The result leaves Plymouth in 23rd spot in the Championship table, although they are only in the relegation zone on goal difference.

The Pilgrims are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they take on second-placed Sheffield United at Bramall Lane (3pm).

What has been said about his future?

Speaking about Rooney's future just last week, Plymouth chairman Simon Hallett gave his backing.

"What we are going to do is not think about getting rid of him and changing him," said Hallett, as reported by the Plymouth Herald. "We are thinking about how we can support him.

"So there are no conversations going on about replacing Wayne, but there are conversations going on about how we can support him to help him become the great coach that we think is in there."

He has also received the backing of the club's director of football, Neil Dewsnip. "He's incredibly motivated to get Argyle to safety and then onwards and upwards from there," he said.

"He's desperate to help Argyle to be successful. Success is staying in the league, then doing a little bit better than that if we can. He talks about being safe four games from the end of the season.

"There's a thought. That's his own personal goal.

"When we have all our players back [from injury], I believe very positively that Wayne will be the right head coach for us so we just have to give him the best chance."

New appointment

Former United assistant manager Mike Phelan has now been appointed at Rooney's right-hand man at Home Park, following the exit of Pete Shuttleworth, who has left the club for "personal reasons".

Phelan spent 12 years working as a coach and assistant manager at United - including under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. He has also worked with Norwich City and Hull City in the Championship.

What Coleen has said

Speaking during her appearance on ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, Coleen Rooney opened up on what it’s like having her husband in football management. During the show, fellow camp-mate Danny Jones asked: "Can you tell Wayne to go and manage Bolton for me?

"[He'd] Do a good job there. Is he loving managing?"

Coleen replied: "Yeah, he does enjoy it, but it is hard work, like. I find it more nerve-racking him being a manager than I did... I feel more pressure than I ever, ever did [watching him] playing.

"I feel like when you are playing, you are part of this team, whereas I feel like a manager - and I know you have a team of coaches at stuff - but it just seems to all be on one."

TV documentary in jeopardy

A documentary that will spotlight Rooney's transition from player to manager, surrounding his time at Plymouth, is now said to be under jeopardy as pressure increases on the manager. It is said that if the managerial stint turns into a "horror show", then either the producers of the documentary - or Rooney himself - could decide to pull the plug.

The documentary is being produced by Lorton Entertainment. The ultimate aim is for it be be picked up by a major streaming service.