Wayne Rooney has abandoned his embryonic career switch as a media pundit with his mate Gary Neville and returned to the challenge of club management by accepting the post at Plymouth Argyle.

This comes on the back of a disastrous spell in charge of Birmingham City where he agreed to a 3½-year contract but was sent packing inside less than 3 months after winning just 2 games out of 15. Despite his dismissal in January, Birmingham were still relegated to League One, whilst Plymouth finished 21st in the Championship and avoided relegation at Birmingham’s expense on the final day.

As a BBC pundit for the FA Cup Final on the day he was appointed, Rooney told Gary Lineker, “I’m really excited. I think obviously to go in as Argyle’s new head coach, it was a fuller process with a lot of managers who were interviewed for the job, and thankfully the club thought I was the best person for the job. I’m excited to get started and meet the players, meet the staff, and obviously a lot of work over the next month before we start pre-season.”

Plymouth’s chairman, Simon Hallett, commented, “Throughout the interview process, Wayne showed himself to be a passionate, intelligent and knowledgeable candidate with an appetite to prove himself and develop his managerial career,” said Hallett, adding Rooney has been tasked with delivering an “exciting and attacking brand of football”.