Despite his most recent experience, former Birmingham City manager Wayne Rooney is not giving up on managing and intends to return.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Replacing John Eustace proved difficult for Wayne Rooney, and he felt the fans never accepted him from the start.
- Despite the setbacks at Birmingham City, Rooney is determined to get back into management and sees it as a learning experience.
- Rooney is not deterred by his recent struggles and his ultimate goal is to manage Manchester United in the future.
Despite his most recent experience at Birmingham City, Wayne Rooney hasn’t been put off managing and wants to get back into it. However, while considering his unsuccessful tenure at St Andrew’s, he has blamed Blues supporters and ownership.
The former England, Everton, and Manchester United player was let go by the Blues shortly after the new year, having playing in just 15 games with just two wins and nine losses.
Wayne Rooney reflects on Birmingham City spell
Rooney discussed his opinions on his stint with the Blues while announcing that he’s not done in the dugout when joining the BBC’s punditry team for United’s 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at The City Ground last night.
Presenter Gary Lineker questioned Rooney about his desire to try management again.
In response, Rooney stated (via BBC MOTD): “I want to get back into it, for sure. Naturally, I believe that what transpired at Birmingham City is a setback. But I want to go back into it, because I’m a warrior.”
In response, Lineker questioned him on whether he thought it was the “wrong job at the wrong time.”
Not in Rooney’s opinion.
The all-time leading scorer for United and England continued: “No, I wouldn’t say that. Upon reflection, it’s possible that John Eustace’s timing wasn’t too bad. I don’t think the fans ever fully accepted me from the beginning, as I’ve stated previously.
“I’m just bummed that I missed the transfer window. My biggest disappointment was not being able to bring in players, as everyone at the club, even the owners, understood we had to do.
Wayne Rooney came to Birmingham City with high expectations
Rooney departed Birmingham in 20th place, just above the relegation zone, despite the fact that they were in the play-off spots when he took over.
Even though the Rams were constrained in the transfer window due to financial concerns, he managed Derby County effectively in 2021–2022, making good use of what he had. Rooney was hit with a 21-point deduction, which had additional ramifications. Derby most certainly would have stayed up if not for the docked points.
However, he lost the support of his supporters immediately and things at Blues couldn’t have gone worse for him as the team crashed down the Championship table. When he joined, there was discussion about how he could assist the team in getting back to the Premier League, but as he departed, they were getting closer to returning to League One.
| Wayne Rooney record at Birmingham City as per The Sporting News | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenure | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win percentage (%) |
| October 2023 – January 2024 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 13.3 |
Replacing John Eustace was always going to be hard for Rooney but he has the character to bounce back
Speaking recently on the Stick to Football podcast, Rooney reaffirmed how difficult it was to succeed his predecessor.
“Birmingham City fans didn’t accept me from day one,” the man stated. To be fair, John Eustace had done a really excellent job, but they made the modification and wanted me to enter. I entered, but I quickly realized that the supporters wouldn’t welcome me.”
It is difficult for a manager to lead without the whole support of the supporters, and Rooney was no exception, facing challenges after Eustace’s departure.
Undoubtedly, it was a very dismal stint, and it has undoubtedly damaged his reputation as a coach, but he is still very early in his management career and can still learn from it.
Because of his relentless mindset and competitive spirit on the field, Rooney was given the nickname “pitbull” by his teammates at United, according to a 2015 interview with Cristiano Ronaldo on BBC Sport.
He will undoubtedly overcome his experience at Birmingham and return to management with the same guts and commitment.
Last night, while Rooney and Lineker were seated in the studio, Rooney’s old England teammate Jermaine Jenas shared his opinions on Rooney returning to management.
“To be honest, I didn’t think he would go into management,” Jenas remarked. But now that I’m thinking about it, he was always the boss in the changing room.
“So it’s good to see him in the dugout and hopefully gets back out there soon.”
Rooney was extremely explicit about his ultimate ambition in management.
In response to Lineker’s question on whether he would like to manage United someday, he said, “That’s the aim, that’s where I want to get to.”
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