‘He is a football natural’ – Wayne Rooney told by former Man Utd team-mate that sackings are ‘part of life’ after being given the boot by Tom Brady & Co at Birmingham after 15 games

Birmingham have taken the decision to part with Rooney’s services after just 15 games with the former England captain at the helm. He spent 83 days in the St Andrew’s dugout, picking up only two wins and suffering nine defeats along the way.

The Blues – with NFL legend Tom Brady now one of their investors – are looking to move in a different direction, with Rooney left to lick his wounds. It remains to be seen when and where he will return to management, but Carrick believes that the passionate student of the game still has plenty to offer.

Carrick, who is currently in charge of Championship side Middlesbrough, has said in The Times of seeing his one-time Old Trafford colleague given the boot by a second tier rival: “I am bitterly disappointed for Wayne as a friend. I know he will bounce back. I know he will be a success. I know Wayne well and his character, the drive… as a person and a player, for what he achieved as a player, and how he did it… the level of motivation, the knowledge he has and his intelligence ‒ he is a football natural. History shows there are some incredible managers who at certain points it hasn’t quite gone to plan, [they’ve] had a setback, and that’s part of life.”

Rooney has now suffered relegation into League One while at Derby, failed to guide D.C. United into the MLS play-offs and lasted less than three months at Birmingham. He feels that he was not given the time required to deliver on expectations in the West Midlands, but will need to rebuild his reputation in whatever post is lined up for him next.