'I broke his glasses' – Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney speaks out on Plymouth red card and reveals wild celebrations after win over Blackburn

The former England captain was a passionate performer in his playing days – leading to him being sent off on eight occasions – and will not be changing his ways as a coach. Rooney kicks every ball on the touchline, which can lead to emotion spilling out of him at times.

That was the case during Plymouth’s latest Championship fixture, with the 38-year-old being dismissed from the dugout following a furious outburst against the match officials. The Pilgrims went on to beat Blackburn courtesy of a 97th-minute winner, with Rooney telling talkSPORT: “Me and the club secretary in the tunnel were celebrating, I broke his glasses celebrating! So the win was a deserved win, but sometimes it boils over a little bit and that's the nature of football.”

Rooney reacted angrily to seeing Blackburn equalise in the 86th minute, and added on seeing red: “It was my first time as a manager [getting sent off]. I think as a manager or a head coach, decisions happen on the pitch and looking back, it's a free kick, so the goal shouldn't have stood. In the Championship you don't have VAR so the officials missed it and your emotions kick in and you know, I'm a passionate person, we want to win.

“We worked extremely hard to win the game and to have that taken away by what I feel was a mistake by the officials, I felt was really harsh. I reacted in a manner in which I shouldn't have and the red card was deserved. From my point of view the fans were fantastic, it almost galvanised the players and the stadium and we kept pushing to get the winning goal.”

Rooney – who has previously spent time in charge of Derby, D.C. United and Birmingham – has seen Plymouth rise to 14th in the Championship table. They have reached another international break, which will allow their manager to spend more time with his family – having been separated from them when taking a job in Devon.