Wayne Rooney received a direct message from former England manager Sam Allardyce regarding the value of his backroom staff at Plymouth Argyle. The signing of the former England and Manchester United striker has caused division among Pilgrims’ supporters.
Rooney has a difficult task at Plymouth following underwhelming experiences at DC United and Birmingham City, the latter of which was demoted to League One. Rooney hasn’t exactly been a confident boss, so he’ll have to prove himself soon to allay any doubts.
Allardyce, a former manager of West Ham, Bolton, Newcastle, and England for a brief period of time, stressed the importance of Rooney’s support network in making sure he succeeds.
Allardyce emphasised on the ‘No Tippy Tappy Football’ podcast the value of having a strong and knowledgeable backroom staff. “If I were talking to him right now, I would tell him that his background staff from his managerial career is the biggest selection,” he remarked.
Throughout his career, he has worked with a diverse group of backstage staff members in places including Derby, America, Birmingham, and now Plymouth. His backroom crew, who have more experience than he does, will help him and excel at other things.
“You can’t be excellent at everything; you have to identify your skills and then look for someone who is more skilled than you in that specific area.
“You hire them, then you make sure they perform as well as you can because you should stick to your strengths because it is one of your shortcomings rather than your strengths. By hiring someone more competent than you for the specific task at hand, you draw attention to your areas of weakness.”
As first-team coaches, Simon Ireland and Kevin Nancekivell have joined Rooney’s squad for the next campaign. Additionally, Daryl Flahavan will join the team as the goalkeeping coach.
Plymouth defeated Hull City 1-0 on the last day of the season to avoid relegation back to League One and to remain above the dreaded drop zone. John Eustace lost control of Birmingham to Rooney while they were sixth in the Championship, but to be fired while the team was stuck in 20th place.
