'Bad to worse' - Wayne Rooney told where he suffered his biggest setback in management as his ex-Man Utd coach explains how he can land Premier League job next

In October 2023, Manchester United legend Rooney was selected by NFL legend Tom Brady and the new ownership team at Birmingham to inherit the reins at St Andrew’s. By January 2, 2024 – after just 83 days and 15 games at the helm – the ex-England international had been axed with his coaching reputation in tatters.

Another new challenge has been taken on at Plymouth, with more tests in the dugout being faced there. Questions have been asked of Rooney’s future in Devon, but he remains fully committed to a post that has taken him away from his family home after resisting any urge to wait on a supposedly “easier” assignment elsewhere.

Former Manchester United assistant Rene Meulensteen – who worked with Rooney at Old Trafford – has saluted the most high-profile of figures for not using his name to land big jobs. The Dutchman – speaking in association with Mega Dice – has told GOAL: “It’s a matter of him needing to get back in. Derby was a big challenge in difficult circumstances, with the club in a difficult situation. He managed to keep them above water for a while. He then went to MLS, which is a completely different challenge - I’ve been there and seen it myself, the different mentality.

“I think the biggest setback for him was the Birmingham one, on the back of them doing well and all the fans were quite happy with [John] Eustace. Wayne comes in because the ownership changes and they want a name in there. It went straight from bad to worse. He has picked up Plymouth, which is bold and brave, but I respect him for doing that. There, you really have to show everything – your management style, your coaching credentials.”

Meulensteen added: “The difference when I was coaching at Manchester United, I had a group of such talented players, half the work was enough. The really traditional coaching way of stop, stand still and telling players what to do, I never used that because I knew that if I give the players the right information, they will take responsibility – empower the players and they will play the game with their decisions.

“At the level Wayne is working at now, he will sometimes think that the players should know that, but they are not of his calibre and they don’t know that. You have to reinforce your tactics, you have to be really clear and make it simplified to some extent. Mick has gone in with him, Mick Phelan, which I think is a wise decision, to get somebody as a sounding board and looking over his shoulder – what about this approach, what about this? I really hope that he gets it right and steers them away from relegation and into mid-table.”

Meulensteen, who helped to mastermind Premier League title triumphs at United alongside Sir Alex Ferguson, went on to say of how Rooney may one day find himself working in the top-flight once more: “It will be a massive learning curve for him this season. If he stays safe, then build on it next year and maybe do a really good job and maybe there will be a bigger club, or a club in the Premier League, that say ‘okay, Wayne, we know what you’re capable of’.

“He’s an intelligent boy. It’s probably a bit of a clash between what he has always been as a player, what he’s used to, to suddenly drop down. Another example of that, top players at Manchester United – if Wayne was playing and suddenly dropped down from United to Plymouth when they were still in League Two, Wayne would still be a very good player but he would never be the player that he was at Manchester United – not because of him, because of his surroundings. That is also the case with managers. If you have to step down a certain level, you have to make sure that you can understand what that level needs.”

Rooney is still learning on the job, with less than 200 games on his coaching CV, but has time on his side at 39 years of age and will believe that he can become a potential Manchester United boss of the future – or at least a rival to them in the top tier of English football.