Wayne Rooney aims brutal dig at Gary Neville in first press conference as Plymouth boss

Wayne Rooney has poked fun at Gary Neville as he addressed the media for the first time as Plymouth boss as he outlines his ambitions with the Championship outfit

By: irishmirror.ie

Jul 05 2024
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Wayne Rooney aims brutal dig a

Wayne Rooney joked he didn't want to be the "next Gary Neville " as he returned to management with Plymouth.

The Manchester United great, who had already been confirmed as the new manager at Home Park, faced the media for the first time and made a dig at his former team-mate, who he remains close friends with, after his failed and short stint as a manager.

Rooney is now into his fourth job since retiring after spells at Derby County, DC United and Birmingham City. The 38-year-old is yet to prove himself in the dugout but is determined to do so as he continues to seek out jobs and he confessed he didn't enjoy being away from the game after his Birmingham sacking.

When asked why he was returning to management Rooney said with a smile: "Because I don't want to be the next Gary Neville!"

He went on to add: "I have a desire, a passion with football and a love for football and I've always had that. The last few months have been very strange for me. Since January it's been a real strange time being at home. I've done bits of TV work, but my real desire is to get back into management."

Rooney struggled for success whilst he was at St Andrew's and left the Blues as the tumbled down the Championship table, which eventually led to them being relegated to the third tier. Plymouth meanwhile just held onto their second tier status after promotion the year prior.

Rooney's assignment now is to consolidate the Pilgrims in the division and the new boss is keen to be "realistic" about the club's ambitions and the timeframe they set themselves. The Premier League is the end goal - and he hopes to get them that bit closer.

Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville retain a good relationship (Image: The Overlap/Youtube)

"We need to be clever in how we work," he said. "I’m not going to come out and say we’re going to be looking to get to the Premier League in a year’s time, we need to be realistic. What we're trying to do is build on what the club has done over the last five years, which has been rising and getting better.

"I think we need to keep moving forward and keep trying to improve and certainly improve on last season. Hopefully at the end of a timeframe which we have in, we can get closer to that Premier League."

Rooney was also pleased to land a job in the summer, giving himself a pre-season with his players. That hasn't been the case previously and he confessed "it becomes a lot more difficult to get the messages across and the point across and get the players to perform."

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