What Wayne Rooney's return to Derby County with Plymouth Argyle means to him

Derby County was the club where Wayne Rooney ended his illustrious playing career as he set out in football management for the first time.

Now Rooney is returning to Pride Park on Saturday, but this time as the head coach of Plymouth Argyle as they seek a first away Championship win of the season. Off the pitch, it will be a chance for Rooney to catch up with some familiar faces following his hugely challenging time at Derby, which included the club going into administration and being on the brink of collapse, while also being relegated to League One.

However, the 39-year-old has made it clear the 'soft spot' that he has for Derby will not extend into the 90 minutes of action on Saturday as Argyle try to build on their 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at Home Park on Tuesday night.

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Rooney said about his return to Derby: "I have got very good memories. I met some very good people who we worked with through very difficult moments at the football club.

"I think during my time there we created a real good environment, so really fond memories. It will be good to see a few old friends who I haven't seen for a while. It will be nice from that point of view but my job is here, my loyalty is here and we have to go there and try to get three points."

Rooney took over as Derby boss during the 2020/21 season and was able to guide them to safety by one point. However, they were relegated from the Championship the following campaign after being deducted a total of 21 points. Without that punishment, County would have finished in 17th position and it led to him resigning from his role later that summer.

"It was difficult times for the football club, for the fans, for the staff," he said. "We had staff members getting made redundant and losing their jobs, but we had to really try to keep it close knit.

"Sometimes through the most difficult moments it brings people together and I think that's exactly what happened. Not just myself, the coaches around me as well, we really pulled together and tried to do the best we could with the players we had.

"It meant quite a few young players made their debut for the football club. Some of them are still in the team now - young Liam Thompson and (Eiran) Cashin. Obviously, Cash is suspended for the game on Saturday.

"Them two got an opportunity through the situation the club was in and they have took it and not looked back. It was a difficult moment but I think a lot of good came from that as well."

Rooney added: "Derby County will always have a place in my heart for what we went through. I was there as a player as well, which sometimes gets lost. I scored my last ever goal in professional football against Norwich for Derby County.

"It was a place I really enjoyed to play and to go into work as manager. Of course, you always have a soft spot for them but certainly not on Saturday."

Derby were promoted back to the Championship as League One runners-up last term under Paul Warne and are currently 13th in the table, with 18 points from 14 games, after winning 2-1 away to Coventry City on Wednesday night, a result which led to the dismissal of long-serving Sky Blues' boss Mark Robins.

Rooney said: "I think they have had an excellent start, coming up from League One last season. Paul Warne is doing a fantastic job there."

As for his own Argyle side, Rooney has already experienced a number of ups and downs this season but they ended a run of four games without a win when they beat Portsmouth, although they were far from their best in that match.

Rooney said: "We have had some excellent performances this season and come away from games with nothing so I think for myself, for the coaches, for the players it's important we get the right balance.

"We can sit here and talk about playing the best football and dominating games, but we have to adapt at times to make sure we do the best things on the pitch to get the three points, and I thought we did that on Tuesday night.

"Derby have a similar way of playing to Portsmouth - very aggressive, man-to-man - so we are going to face challenges on Saturday similar to what we faced on Tuesday. It's important we find a way to come out with the points we want."

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