Rooney named Plymouth Argyle head coach

Plymouth Argyle have confirmed the appointment of Wayne Rooney as their new head coach.

Rooney, 38, has been out of management since he was sacked by Birmingham City after just 83 days in charge of the Championship club.

The ex-Manchester United and England striker succeeds former Plymouth manager Ian Foster, who was dismissed in April after less than three months at the helm. Plymouth finished 20th in their first season since 2009-10 back in the Championship, one place above the drop zone.

Rooney said: “Taking this role at Plymouth Argyle feels like the perfect next step in my career.

“This is an opportunity to be part of an exciting project. I look forward to helping to build a squad of players to play expansive football – and to entertain the Green Army.

“I have experienced first-hand how talented the existing group of players is here – and also the incredible atmosphere at Home Park. The club is on an exciting long-term journey, with a progressive plan in place. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of it.”

First-team coaches Kevin Nancekivell, Simon Ireland and goalkeeping coach Daryl Flahavan will form part of Rooney’s backroom staff, with further additions to be made in due course.

The search for Foster’s Home Park successor was led by Argyle director of football Neil Dewsip, who has an existing relationship with Rooney having worked at Everton’s academy during the former striker’s rise through the Merseyside club’s youth ranks.

Plymouth chairman Simon Hallett said: “Throughout the interview process, Wayne showed himself to be a passionate, intelligent, and knowledgeable candidate with an appetite to prove himself and develop his managerial career.

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“So much so, that he reached out to the board when we started this process and was attracted by the project at hand and showed a real plan on how to lead the football club forward.

“His ambitions and aims match ours perfectly and we feel he is the perfect candidate to provide the exciting and attacking brand of football that we all like to see and help us achieve the club’s mission.”

Rooney has predominantly worked as pundit since parting ways with Birmingham, making appearances on Sky, TNT Sports and BBC Sport.

Earlier this week it was announced he will be part of the BBC’s live coverage of this summer’s European Championship in Germany.

Birmingham were sixth in the Championship standings when Rooney took the reins, but a run of two wins and nine defeats in 15 matches resulted in his dismissal, leaving the Midlands club six points above the drop zone.

The Blues were relegated to League One on the final day of the 2023-24 season, finishing one place behind Plymouth — whose final day win at home to Hull City secured their second-tier status over Birmingham.

Rooney began his career in management with Derby County in a temporary player-coach role. He took the position on a permanent basis in January 2021 and guided the club to safety later that season.

Derby were placed into administration at the start of the 2021-22 campaign, incurring a 21-point penalty that would ultimately see them relegated to League One.

Rooney also spent 15 months at the helm of MLS side D.C. United, but left by mutual consent in October 2023 after they failed to qualify for the play-offs.

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(Photo by Morgan Harlow/Getty Images)