'It didn't work' – Why Wayne Rooney’s wife & kids didn’t follow him to Plymouth as Coleen explains decision to live 260 miles away from Man Utd legend

After enduring an ill-fated 83-day stint in charge of Birmingham last season – when he was snapped up by Tom Brady and the Blues board – ex-England captain Rooney accepted the challenge of trying to cement Plymouth’s status as a Championship club.

The 38-year-old is now based in Devon, having previously spent time managing in the United States, but does not have his partner and four sons alongside him. Coleen has told The Mirror of why the rest of the Rooney clan are based 260 miles away: “We see him a couple of times a week, which is good. He went to America, so this is a bonus because even though it seems like far away, it’s easier to get to than Washington, DC. There’s lots of FaceTime and he always phones when we’re going out of the door in the morning. I’m like, ‘Just wait till we’re in the car. I’ve got no time.’”

She added: “We thought long and hard about it (moving to Devon) but with the kids it didn’t work. Kai’s now in year 10 and just starting GCSE prep and everything’s going well with football, and the other boys are all settled at school, so it didn’t seem fair on the children to pick them up and take them away, and start in a whole new place. It’s manageable. It’s life. Other couples and families have similar situations and have to get on with it.”

There have been suggestions that Coleen is worried about Wayne fending for himself, with care packages being sent to the south coast. She responded to those reports by saying: “My mum said that to me last night. I was like, ‘Oh no, I’ve got no time to do that for him when I’ve got all those kids at home!”

Rooney’s Plymouth have only picked up five points from six games this season, leaving them just outside the Championship relegation zone, with a 1-0 defeat at table-topping West Brom suffered last time out to leave them with plenty of work to do.