A stark warning from former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has rung true as Wayne Rooney finds himself out of work again after being sacked by Plymouth
Sir Alex Ferguson’s words of advice came back to bite Wayne Rooney as the Manchester United legend was sacked by Plymouth Argyle.
Rooney was appointed by the Championship side in May last year on a three-year deal. It marked his return to management following previous spells in charge of Birmingham City and Derby County, either side of a stint at Major League Soccer side DC United. Rooney’s Pilgrims managed just four wins from 23 league games.
The end of 2024 saw the end of his reign as he was axed on New Year’s Eve in the wake of a 2-0 defeat at newly-promoted Oxford United, with Plymouth rock-bottom of the second tier. Rooney joined Derby as a player-coach in 2019 before becoming manager, initially on an interim basis, following the sacking of Phillip Cocu.
Ferguson wished United’s all-time leading goalscorer well at the time, but warned him it was a “results industry”, which has been underlined by sackings by Birmingham, where he took charge of just 15 games, and now Plymouth.
“He’s England’s top goal scorer, he’s Manchester United’s top goal scorer and he’s had a fantastic career as a player,” said Ferguson in 2021 at an event for Sports United Against Dementia.
“It’ll give him a starting point. It’s a results industry and you need to get results. He’ll know that better than anyone. He’s had a good start… and he has knowledge of the game, a presence about him, and I hope he does well.
“It’s a big step for him. He’s quite a wealthy young man now with his career in football, so he probably doesn’t need to go into management to look after his family. But he wants to do it and that’s important.
GET INVOLVED! Do you think Wayne Rooney will get another club job? Tell us in the comments section.
“There’s no point being a manager because someone asks you to be. He went there as a player-coach, he then became player-manager and now he has the manager’s job and that’s what he wanted. Hopefully he does well.”
Four years and as many jobs later, Rooney finds himself on the managerial scrapheap, with his statistics having taken a battering at Birmingham and Plymouth. His overall record now reads: 177 games, 46 wins, 44 draws, 87 losses with an average of 1.03 points per game (PPM).
Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. 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 our Privacy Notice.