'Can he do it?' - Wayne Rooney set 'fantastic achievement' challenge as Man Utd legend made aware of issue that he has to address at Plymouth

The former England captain returned to management in the summer of 2024 when taking the reins at Home Park. He is attempting to rebuild his reputation in coaching circles following a disastrous stint in charge of Birmingham that saw NFL legend Tom Brady and the Blues board cut that experiment short after just 83 days.

Plymouth have delivered a mixed bag in 2024-25, with three wins being countered by six defeats. The Pilgrims have conceded 19 goals through 11 games – which is the second-worst record in the Championship – and Rooney has been told that merely finishing outside of the bottom three should be considered success in his debut campaign.

Former EFL player and coach Carlton Palmer has told Football League World: "I think the problem is for Wayne Rooney's side that they're conceding way too many goals. I mean, they're up there with the most goals conceded so far this season. Watford are in ninth place, and they've conceded 19 goals, but the teams that have conceded as many as Plymouth’s 19 are Queens Park Rangers, 19, and Portsmouth, 23. They're all at the bottom end of the table.

"Wayne Rooney needs to stop Plymouth shipping goals the way that they are doing. As I said before, everybody is focusing in on Plymouth and Wayne Rooney every time there's a result. If it's a good result they're talking about, has he turned the corner? Is he proving people wrong? If they get a bad result, then you know people are saying, well, can he do it?"

Ex-England international Palmer added: "I think people just have to be patient and wait and see how the season unfolds. There's a long way to go to see if Wayne Rooney keeps Plymouth Argyle in the Championship this season. Given their resources, this would be a fantastic achievement.

"But they've certainly got to stop shipping goals, and they've got to sort their away form out, this is what you've got to do as a manager. You want to play attractive football, of course you do, you want to play a certain style, but the Championship’s a tough league and what you've got to do is you've got to make yourself hard to beat. At this moment in time, I can't say whether Plymouth are going to be relegated or not."

Plymouth sit 21st in the Championship table as things stand, with only two points keeping them clear of the relegation zone. They have suffered back-to-back defeats since the last international break – failing to score a goal in the process – and will return to action on Saturday when playing host to Preston.