Wayne Rooney given ‘alarming’ advice amid Plymouth sack threat – with Man Utd legend told there is ‘no panic’ just yet

The Manchester United legend has overseen just 20 games as Pilgrims boss and has suffered defeat in half of those fixtures. A couple of heavy losses over recent weeks have led to uncomfortable questions being asked about Rooney’s future.

It has been suggested that he is already facing the axe at Home Park, with back-to-back home games against Oxford and Swansea putting him in make-or-break territory - with there talk of a documentary series that was intended to shed light on his return to management being shelved.

Former EFL player and coach Carlton Palmer is not convinced that parting with Rooney would be the right call by Plymouth, but he has told Football League World of what needs to change in Devon: “Plymouth Argyle's owner, Simon Hallett, has thrown his support behind Wayne Rooney, and so he should. He's admitted that the results have been poor in recent weeks, and I think one of the things that would be concerning me more than anything else would be the amount of goals that Plymouth are conceding. Already the goal difference that they have got is -20.

“I don't believe the answer is sacking the manager. Wayne Rooney is a young manager, it doesn't matter who was going to take over there, they were going to struggle, they haven't got the finances to compete with the teams in the Championship. If Wayne Rooney keeps Plymouth in the Championship this season, he will have done well, but he's got to stop them conceding.”

Ex-England international Palmer went on to say: “If you're going to get beat, you get beat, but don't be getting beaten by fours, fives and sixes because that creates problems for the owner, he's got to arrest that. They're outside the relegation positions at the moment on 17 points, with Portsmouth at the bottom on 13 points and QPR and Hull on 15 points, but a couple of wins gets you into mid-table.

“I don't think there's any panic, there's certainly no panic, but he needs to stop them conceding so many goals. It's alarming how many goals they have conceded, you can't be conceding 38 goals in 18 games and only scoring 18 goals, you're going to get relegated on that basis, so he needs to address that situation, and I'm sure Wayne will do that.”

Rooney is fully committed to the challenge that he has taken on at Plymouth, with a shock appointment on the south coast seeing him relocate 260 miles away from his wife Coleen and four sons in Cheshire. He did, however, last only 83 days in charge of Birmingham last season and faces another fight to prove his worth in coaching circles.