Rooney leaves Plymouth

Wayne Rooney has left Plymouth Argyle after a nine-game winless run left the club bottom of the Sky Bet Championship.

Appointed in May on a three-year deal, Rooney departs Plymouth after just seven months in charge with the club four points from safety.

His last game at the helm came on Sunday, when Argyle were beaten 2-0 at fellow strugglers Oxford.

In a statement on the Plymouth website, Rooney said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board of Plymouth, in particular Simon Hallett and Neil Dewsnip who I shared great relationships with.

“Thanks also to all the staff who made me feel welcome and who make the club such a special place, the players and fans for their efforts and support during my time as head coach and I wish them all the best for the future.

“To the Green Army thanks for making the games at Home Park so special, they are memories that we will share forever.

“I would also like to give a special mention to my coaching staff Kevin Nancekivell, Simon Ireland, Darryl Flahavan and Mike Phelan for their knowledge, dedication, help and support.

“Plymouth Argyle will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will continue to look out for and take interest in their results.”

Wednesday 1st January 12:25pm


Kick off 12:30pm

Following Rooney’s departure, first-team coach Nancekivell and club captain Joe Edwards will be in charge for Plymouth’s New Year’s Day clash against Bristol City.

A statement on the club website read: “Plymouth Argyle can confirm that the club and head coach Wayne Rooney have mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect.

“Departing the club with Rooney will be assistant head coach Mike Phelan and first-team coach Simon Ireland.

“First-team coach Kevin Nancekivell and club captain Joe Edwards will lead the team for our Sky Bet Championship match against Bristol City on New Year’s Day. Daryl Flahavan will continue as goalkeeping coach.

“We would like to thank Wayne and his team for all their efforts and wish them well for the future.

“The club will be making no further comment at this stage with updates on our new first-team management staff in due course.”

‘It wasn’t good enough’ – What Rooney said after defeat at Oxford…

Sunday’s defeat at Oxford was an 11th loss in 13 games on the road for Rooney.

Speaking after the game, in what turned out to be his final post-match interview as Argyle boss, Rooney said: “You have to look at every possible outcome, that’s normal with the results we’re going through. You have to feel, ‘do we have the players to turn it around? Can I turn it around? Can the coaching staff turn it around?’

“I’ll go back and try to prepare for Bristol but ultimately I know football and how it works. I understand the fans. I’ve been there myself. As a fan you want to see your team win, to see your team running, making tackles and when your team is losing games, as we are, the frustration is there. I get it. I know the work we’re doing is good work. Unfortunately we’re not getting the results.

“It wasn’t good enough. We didn’t create enough chances, the goals we conceded – we didn’t do enough to stop them scoring goals. Defensively this has been going on for a few weeks now. We’ve been trying to score goals but we didn’t hurt them enough today.”

Plymouth’s upcoming fixtures

• Bristol City (H) – Championship – Wednesday January 1, kick-off 12:30pm – live on Sky Sports+

• Stoke City (A) – Championship – Saturday January 4, kick-off 12:30pm – live on Sky Sports+

• Brentford (A) – FA Cup – Saturday January 11, kick-off 3pm

• Oxford (H) – Championship – Tuesday January 14, kick-off 7.45pm

• – live on Sky Sports+QPR (H) – Championship – Saturday January 18, kick-off 12.30pm