What Wayne Rooney ‘should have’ done to prevent Birmingham & Plymouth flops as imminent return to management for Man Utd legend is ruled out

Having hung up his boots while on the books at Derby, Rooney cut his management teeth with the Rams and did a commendable job in difficult circumstances - with a points deduction delivering relegation out of the Championship.

A return to the United States was then made with MLS outfit D.C. United - another club that he represented in his playing days - but a little over 14 months were spent in Washington without delivering a play-off berth.

Tom Brady and Co, with ambitious plans being drawn up at Birmingham, took a punt on Rooney in October 2023. He was ushered out of St Andrew’s in early January 2024 after taking in just 15 games across 83 days at the helm.

Another opportunity was presented to Manchester United’s all-time leading goalscorer later that year, as Plymouth sought inspiration in the second tier, but a 25-match tenure saw the Pilgrims tumble towards the foot of the division.

Rooney has since returned to punditry duty, while starring in a new documentary series alongside wife Coleen and their four sons, and appears to be in no rush to pick up his tactics board again - despite leaving that door open.

Asked if a competitive character will have a coaching itch to scratch, having flopped in some difficult roles, ex-Toffees defender Stubbs - who was speaking courtesy of Gambler Media - told GOAL: “I'm not too sure. I think what he's doing off the pitch now is, I think he's enjoying it.

“I think when he went into management, I think he was probably... I think with someone who's been such an enigma in terms of his talent, I think sometimes you can jump into management too quickly.

“And I think with Wayne, he's a strong enough personality to think that he can do it and nothing will faze him. But I think now, if you probably asked him the question, he may give you a different answer in terms of, maybe I should have spent a little bit more time coaching.

“Maybe I should have, or maybe I could have spent a bit more time around managers or gone in and seen how they work. Hindsight's a brilliant thing. And sometimes, you only ask them questions when you're out of a job and you've been released from a job.

“I don't think Wayne has any regrets because I think he took the jobs that he took in good faith and he wanted to make the best of them. But sometimes, no matter what the tools you have in front of you, things can not work for a variety of reasons.

“I think Wayne found that with Birmingham. It was probably what he thought he was going to be doing was probably different to what it entailed.”

Rooney has been linked with various vacant posts since bidding farewell to Plymouth - a job that saw him relocate to the south coast and spend long periods of time separated from his family in Cheshire.

No role has been appealing enough as yet, while talk of a return to Old Trafford as part of the backroom team there has remained little more than speculative gossip, with the 40-year-old seemingly happy offering expert analysis and opinion across live productions, highlight shows and podcasts.