Wayne Rooney will learn from the highs and lows of his managerial career so far when Plymouth Argyle travel to Sheffield Wednesday for his first game in charge of the club (live on Sky Sports Football).
Rooney is trying to restore his reputation as a manager after a disappointing spell at Birmingham City last season, which lasted just 83 days.
“This is my fourth job as a manager, so I’ve gained quite a bit of experience over the last few years, both good and bad,” he said Sky Sports.
“I feel I am in the best possible place to manage Plymouth Argyle so I feel ready for this challenge.
“This is a big season for us. We want to improve on last season and I’m really happy with the players.”
Argyle finished 21st last season and avoided relegation with a 1-0 win over Hull City on the final day.
Rooney hopes to improve his results immediately but has a long-term vision for the club.
“We definitely want to improve on last season. But it’s not just about this season. We have a plan for the next few years of where we want to go as a club,” he said.
“Coming to the football club and having a clear idea of where the club wants to go, how the club works, a philosophy of how the club works and not straying too far from that was really refreshing.”
Birmingham paid the price for Argyle avoiding the relegation battle, being relegated to League One despite a 1-0 win over Norwich on the final day of the season.
Rooney suffered nine defeats in his 15 games as manager and bears some of the blame for the Blues’ first relegation to the English third division since 1995.
Since his dismissal in January, he has taken time to reflect on what went wrong.
“In the end, the results were not good enough,” he admitted.
“The plan was always to come in with a long-term plan, which obviously didn’t work out. So I’m really disappointed with how that turned out.
“I would have liked at least a transfer window, but listen, I ignored that. Looking back, the timing was not optimal from both my point of view and the club’s point of view.”
The time he spent away from football in the months following his dismissal has only increased the pressure for the new season.
“January to May was the longest time I’ve ever spent without football,” he said. “It was strange, you miss it, you want to be back.”
Although he was brought to Birmingham in October last season, Rooney benefitted from a full pre-season and transfer window at Argyle.
“Yes, of course (that’s a big advantage), you have time to communicate your ideas to the players about how you want to play,” he said.
“We believe that the pre-season has gone well, but ultimately we have all prepared for the first game of the season and are really looking forward to the game on Sunday. There is a certain excitement throughout the city.”
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In addition, he has strengthened his team with some new additions.
The 21-year-old winger Ibrahim Cissoko was loaned from Toulouse after making 11 appearances in Ligue 1 last season.
“He is a player that will excite the Argyle fans and I know they will enjoy watching him play,” Rooney said upon his arrival.
“He is a fast, athletic and technical winger who will strengthen our options in attack.”
The winger himself stated in a social media post that he was “focused and ready to win” ahead of the season.
In addition, loan deals for Darko Gyabi and Muhamed Tijani were agreed with Leeds and Slavia Prague respectively.
Full-back Nathanael Ogbeta joins on a free transfer after leaving Swansea, as does Icelandic defender Victor Palsson after leaving KAS Eupen.
Seven players have left Home Park, but Argyle have retained reigning Player of the Season Morgan Whittaker – at least for now.
The striker scored 19 league goals last season, securing a place in the Championship team of the season.
Despite alleged transfer interest in the 23-year-old, he remains with Rooney’s team ahead of the new season and started in their last warm-up game against MK Dons.
There are reasons for optimism ahead of his debut season, but Rooney wants to temper expectations.
“We are realistic and know that it will be very difficult to win the championship,” he laughed.
“We have realistic goals. We know where we can get to in the next few years and if we continue to improve incrementally, we will achieve the goals we want to achieve.”
However, there is no doubt about his enthusiasm.
“I think it will be a special moment to have the fans back here and to play for the first time as Argyle manager.”
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(c) Sky Sports 2024: Wayne Rooney is ready to revive his coaching career at Plymouth Argyle
