Plymouth Argyle manager Wayne Rooney has found himself under pressure with his team sliding down the Championship table, but wife Coleen opted against attending a must-win game
Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle travelled to Oxford for a relegation six-pointer at the bottom of the Championship – but the manager’s wife Coleen was nowhere to be seen.
Coleen was instead at Goodison Park, where Everton hosted Nottingham Forest. She shared a snap from the directors’ lounge, including the teamsheets for the Premier League clash.
Indeed, the decision can be seen as a brutal snub – with Rooney needing as much support as he can get amid growing uncertainty over his future at Plymouth. Before the 3pm matches kicked off, the club were rock bottom of the Championship.
But Coleen opted to stay closer to home, rather than travel to Oxford to support her under-pressure husband. She was also treated to the VIP treatment, having watched the match from a box at Goodison Park.
Plymouth’s misery continued with a 4-0 hammering at Coventry last time out. Rooney’s side are still without an away win all season, and Coventry boss Frank Lampard sympathised with his former England team-mate.
“The longer you do this for – and I’m not an absolute young manager anymore, in a way – you understand there is a time that this can happen,” Lampard said. “You try and find balance, I’m not going to say too much [to Rooney].
“We’ll try and chat football because everyone has challenges in this job, it’s not for me to comment on Wayne’s job there as much as it would be for him to discuss what goes on here. It was a game we won, we played well and I absolutely wish him the best.
Will Wayne Rooney last the season at Plymouth? Have your say in the comments section
“It was a really good performance. Last week was difficult, but it happens in this league and it’s always more important how you react to things.
“We’ve had a good week with the lads, today they performed really well, we looked good at times early in the game and then kept going, kept creating and being more clinical.”
Coventry were out of sight by half-time, with Rooney’s team suffering again after showing signs of recovery in the previous weeks. “What I was really disappointed with was the goals we conceded because we know what Coventry’s strengths were,” he said.
“We identified them, especially about putting crosses into the box towards the back post and then to concede so early on exactly on what we knew they’d do was very disappointing. The big issue for us today was lads didn’t switch on quick enough.
“It’s a silly tackle [from Callum Wright, who was sent off late on]. I think he has a wild tackle just before that, and I get it, I’ve been there myself as a player.
“It’s disappointing because we prepared well for the game, we’ve done everything we felt was right for the game and then all the fans paid a lot of money, because the ticket prices were quite high. They’ve obviously travelled over this [festive] period and to come and see the performance, especially in the first half, they’ve every right to be disappointed.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read ourPrivacy Notice.
Learn more
