Plymouth Argyle have confirmed the appointment of Wayne Rooney as their new manager.
Rooney, 38, has been out of charge since being sacked by Birmingham City after just 83 days in charge of the Championship club.
Former Manchester United and England The striker replaces former Plymouth manager Ian Foster, who was sacked in April after less than three months in the job. Plymouth finished 20th in their first season since 2009-10.
Rooney said: “I feel that taking up this role at Plymouth Argyle is a great next step in my career.
“This is an opportunity to be part of an exciting project. I am looking forward to helping build a squad of players to play extensive football and cheering on the Green Army.
I have experienced first-hand how talented the current squad of players are here and the wonderful atmosphere at Home Park. The club is on an exciting long-term journey, with a progressive plan in place. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this.
First team coaches Kevin Nancekivell, Simon Ireland and goalkeeping coach Darryl Flahavan will form part of Rooney’s backroom staff.
The search for a replacement at Foster’s Home Park has been led by Argyle director of football Neil Dewsip, a former striker with an existing relationship with Rooney who worked his way through the Merseyside club’s youth ranks at Everton’s academy.
Plymouth chairman Simon Hallett said: “Throughout the interview process, Wayne has shown himself to be a smart and knowledgeable candidate who is keen to prove himself and develop his management career.
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“When we started this process, he reached out to the board, he was attracted by the project at hand and he showed a real plan of how to lead the football club in the future.
“His ambitions and ambitions align perfectly with ours and we feel he is the perfect candidate to deliver the exciting and attacking brand of football we all want to see and help us achieve the club’s mission.”
After parting ways with Birmingham, Rooney has appeared professionally on Sky, TNT Sport and BBC Sport.
It was announced earlier this week that he will be part of the BBC’s live coverage of the Winter European Championships in Germany.
Birmingham were sixth in the Championship when Rooney took charge, but a 15-match run of two wins and nine defeats saw the Midlands club move six points clear of the relegation zone.
The Blues will be relegated to League One on the final day of the 2023-24 season, finishing one place behind Plymouth – whose last-day home win at Hull City confirmed their second-place finish at Birmingham.
Rooney began his managerial career with Derby County in an interim player-coaching role. He took over on a permanent basis in January 2021 and led the club to safety that same season.
Derby were placed into administration at the start of the 2021-22 campaign, resulting in a 21-point penalty that ultimately saw them relegated to League One.
Rooney spent 15 months at MLS side DC United, but left by mutual consent in October 2023 after they failed to qualify for the play-offs.
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(Photo by Morgan Harlow/Getty Images)