Wayne Rooney was relieved of his duties at Plymouth on New Year’s Eve, with the Devon side dropping two places to the bottom of the Championship table midway through the campaign. The Manchester United and England hero has guided the Pilgrims to just 4 league wins in 23 attempts, with relegation to League One on the horizon if the club fails to turn their fortunes around quickly.
Rooney was only on the bench for seven months at Home Park after being appointed Plymouth boss at the end of May.
And Express Sport looks at the five characteristics Rooney needs to explore for his next role.
Rooney has harmed his reputation as a manager during ill-fated spells with Birmingham and Plymouth over the last 14 months and may not be given the opportunity to manage in the Championship again until he can prove himself at a lower level.
The 39-year-old may therefore have to accept a role in League One, where he will be under slightly less scrutiny and may be given a longer period to find a process that works.
Rooney may decide to get away from England and experience life in another country for a few years.
There will be a Saudi Pro League club that would be willing to offer him a huge salary to take him to the Middle East. Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard is managing El-Ettifaq of late and could put his former foreign teammate in touch with the right people to get the ball rolling.
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If Rooney needs to step away from the demands of club football, he could try to secure a job as England manager.
The former striker scored 53 goals in 120 appearances for the Three Lions in his playing career and has plenty of wisdom to offer the current generation of English players.
Many former players turned their backs on professional work, with Alan Shearer and Gary Neville opting to work outside the television studio.
Rooney has appeared on Sky Sport and the BBC to offer his expert thoughts in the past and would be welcomed back with open arms if he wanted to return to either channel.
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Rooney may want to take a break from football altogether for the time being and could decide to follow his wife Coleen into reality TV. Mrs Rooney finished second on I’m a Celebrity last month and her husband revealed he would also consider featuring on the show if he isn’t working.
“We’ve said that if we ever had to do one, this is the one we would do,” the successful football star said on I’m A Celebrity Unpacked. “And obviously, Coleen went there to check it out.
“Maybe [I would go on] if I’m not working – it’s something I would like to do. But at the minute, obviously, that’s not possible.”
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