Wayne Rooney signed me at Derby County and DC United - this is why he is loved

Wayne Rooney's managerial style has earned him the respect and admiration of his players, with one former teammate revealing team-mates "love him".

After hanging up his boots, Rooney chose to dive headfirst into management rather than follow many of his peers into punditry.

He took charge at Derby County in 2020 as a player/manager, before moving on to DC United. However, after failing to reach the MLS playoffs, he left the club in October 2023.

His next stop was Birmingham City, but his tenure was short-lived, with Rooney being shown the door after just three months with the team struggling in 20th place in the EFL Championship. In May, he took the helm at Plymouth Argyle, but despite a rocky start and some fan scepticism, the players have nothing but praise for their manager.

Ravel Morrison, who has played under Rooney with both the Rams and DC United, recently spoke out on The Stomping Ground podcast, hosted by Troy Deeney, about the unwarranted negative press Rooney often receives as a manager.

In a discussion about managerial styles, Morrison gave his insight: "I'm not sure you know, because I feel when he's in the club all the players love him.", reports the Mirror. "So he's a players' manager. The players all love him.

"Rooney has all the players' intentions - the best intentions. So he wants what's best for the players cause obviously he was a player himself, and he's a bit of a, would you say, 'Wildcard'? So he knows what it's like. What the players require."

Wayne Rooney's tenure at Argyle has started off with challenges in the 2024/25 Championship season, securing just a single victory across the first five matches. A heavy 4-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday marked a disappointing seasonal start but Argyle have proved strong at home and they gained a point on the road when they finished off before the international break with a 1-1 draw at Pride Park.

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