Following Chris Davies’ appointment as the new head coach, first-team coach Pete Shuttleworth officially left the Blues to take a position as Rooney’s assistant manager at Plymouth.
Recently, the 45-year-old teamed up with former Birmingham coach John O’Shea at the Republic of Ireland camp to provide assistance in advance of their international matches against Portugal and Hungary.
Since the two worked together at DC United and Derby County prior to a brief stint at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, Shuttleworth has had a tendency to follow Rooney about. Now, the two are back together in the Championship.
On June 12, the Blues formally announced Shuttleworth’s resignation and said him farewell. Shuttleworth worked as a scout for Birmingham in 2015 prior to joining the coaching staff more recently. He then assumed responsibility for tactical analysis.
Rooney is thrilled to have one of his favourite teammates join Plymouth as the English second-tier team looks to move forward after avoiding relegation the previous campaign. Last season, Birmingham was one point behind the Devon-based team.
“He is a fantastic coach who shares the same footballing values as Argyle and me. He is also a fantastic motivator and has a thorough understanding of tactical and performance analysis,” Rooney stated on the Plymouth website.
“In the end, he is a wonderful man who embodies all the ideals that the football team and I seek, and he will be the ideal addition to our current coaching staff.”
Neil Dewsnip, director of football at Argyle, continued, “We are overjoyed that Pete has decided to become an assistant head coach at Argyle.
Wayne has had close working relationships with him in the past, and we believe that his coaching abilities will enhance the current Argyle staff.
“Pre-season preparations are going great, and I’m excited for the players and staff to reunite at the beginning of July as we look forward to the upcoming season.”
