Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was brutally sacked by Plymouth last month after a rotten run of form and it appears to have been the right decision from the Championship side
Guilt over Wayne Rooney’s sacking inspired Plymouth to produce one of the shocks of the FA Cup so far, his successor has admitted.
The Championship strugglers went away to Brentford on Saturday – a task that looked particularly daunting given the Bees’ formidable home form. But Morgan Whittaker’s second-half stunner secured a shock victory against the Premier League side.
It was also Plymouth’s first competitive win away from home since last April. And the club’s caretaker boss Kevin Nancekivell has admitted that guilt over Rooney’s departure inspired the players to secure victory.
Speaking after the game, he said: “The players are probably feeling a little bit of guilt after losing the manager so they’re feeling remorse and want to make up for the wrongdoings of this season.
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“The last two games, they’ve given everything, they’ve stuck to the plan, they’ve got their blocks in, they’ve defended and had a desire to defend, and it just goes to show what you can achieve when you have that application.”
Plymouth are now three games without defeat since Rooney’s sacking. Before that, they had lost six out of seven games in all competitions.
“It’s been a tough period. When you lose a manager you have to hold the fort – which we’ve been asked to do – and I’m pleased we’ve been able to give the supporters some cheers,” added Nancekivell.
“The players had to execute the gameplan and to a man they did that, they were outstanding and I couldn’t have asked for anything more, it’s down to the players and nobody else.”
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Despite being sacked by Plymouth, it appears that Rooney harbours no ill-feeling towards the club. Taking to social media after the club’s win, he wrote: “So happy for this man [Nancekivell]. Legend,” accompanied by a large green heart emoji.
And while he has led Plymouth into the fourth round of the FA Cup, Nancekivell will not be in charge for much longer. The Championship side have appointed Austrian boss Miron Muslic as Rooney’s long-term successor.
He will oversee his first game in midweek against fellow strugglers Oxford. Meanwhile, Rooney has already found his next coaching job having been appointed as an ambassador Football Escapes.
He might not be done there. It has been suggested that he could have lucrative offers from TV channels to become a pundit in the near future.
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