Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports News & Getty
Topics: Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, Birmingham City, Euro 2024, Valencia, England
Rory O'Callaghan
Topics: Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, Birmingham City, Euro 2024, Valencia, England
Wayne Rooney couldn't resist a cheeky dig at his former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville in his first press conference at Plymouth Argyle ahead of the new season.
Rooney was announced as the new head coach of the Championship club back in May, the former England captain signing a three-year deal at Home Park.
It's a swift return to management for Rooney, who was sacked as Birmingham manager midway through last season after a disastrous 83-day reign at the club.
Advert
Rooney lost nine of his 15 league matches in charge of Birmingham, who were eventually relegated to League One on the final day of the season – with Plymouth avoiding the drop at the Blues’ expense after finishing in 21st place.
Rooney spent part of the summer on punditry duty for the BBC at Euro 2024 before departing after the group stage to take up his role at Plymouth.
On Thursday, he held his first press conference as head coach ahead of the new season.
Advert
After being asked why he gave up his punditry role for a return to management in the second tier, Rooney told reporters: "I don't want to be the next Gary Neville!"
Former United captain Neville had a brief spell in management after retirement, taking charge of Spanish club Valencia during ill-fated spell in 2015 and 2016.
Neville was sacked just four months into his reign after managing just three wins from 16 league matches.
Advert
Speaking in 2022, Neville said he would never return to management after his nightmare spell in Spain.
Speaking on Sky Sports' The Overlap, Neville said: "I didn't want to be a manager. I should have said no, it wasn't for me and I wasn't experienced enough.
"You [Roy Keane] get p***** off all the time about people getting jobs and they don't deserve it.
"I didn't deserve that job. It's one of the biggest clubs in Spain. Didn't speak the language, didn't have the knowledge of the league and didn't have the knowledge of that sort of culture or anything."