Wayne Rooney a 'broken man like Pep Guardiola' at Plymouth as body language expert claims 'pissed off' Man Utd legend has 'no idea' how to lift fortunes of Championship strugglers

Swansea City heaped more misery on Pilgrims boss Rooney on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win at Home Park. The result leaves Plymouth second-bottom in the Championship and with just one win in their last 10 matches.

Rooney called on his players to "show more resilience" after the defeat, their third in a row, but many of the club's fans now want the Manchester United legend gone. Plymouth's cause hasn't been helped by a string of injuries but according to body language expert Darren Stanton, what's more concerning is that Rooney "has no idea" how to turn the Pilgrims' fortunes around, and he's even begun displaying traits similar to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola in his recent troubling public appearances.

“Wayne Rooney's body language is reminding me of Pep Guardiola after games against Tottenham and Liverpool. Pep was a broken man who had no clue what to do next and I'd definitely say the same applies to Rooney," Stanton told OLBG.

“He's displaying some classic pacifying gestures. During the press conference, you could see he was hunched over with his arms interlocked. This shows he feels absolutely dejected, a bit lost and has no idea what to do next or how to turn the team's form around. I certainly believe he feels very much under pressure and not confident about keeping his job. His skin tone became quite red and he even began squirming."

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“As it goes on, you begin to see something that we call illustrators which reflects his true emotion and show he's actually pissed off at the situation and himself," Stanton added.

“Rooney raises his eyebrows after being asked about players who are unavailable for selection. We would call this a 'leakage signal' and you can actually tell that he is angry with the situation. I believe this shows that he is trying to attribute blame elsewhere and prove that Plymouth's underwhelming form and defensive displays are not because of him. He's trying to shift the blame and holds other people responsible.

“Overall, this is a man who is lost and has no idea how to turn Plymouth Argyle's fortunes around.”

Rooney's challenge to lift Plymouth out of the bottom three grows tougher, with upcoming matches against top-six sides Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.