Wayne Rooney confirms decision to return to management and 'puts name forward' for next job

Despite being sacked by Plymouth, Wayne Rooney still has the hunger to remain in management and has even put his name forward for a Premier League position that could soon be vacant

Another sacking hasn't dented Wayne Rooney's resolve to coach - and he's already "put his name forward" for his next role.

The 39-year-old left Plymouth by mutual consent in December, marking Rooney's fourth managerial exit in around two-and-a-half years. A lack of success at Derby, Birmingham City and DC United, in addition to his Argyle spell, might be enough to put some off the career altogether. Still, Rooney is determined to return to the touchline.

"I would like to go back in [to management]," he said on the Stick to Football podcast, to the surprise of former Manchester United team-mate Gary Neville. "But it would have to be the right club. Certainly the right club."

Neville's immediate response was to ask United's all-time top scorer if he was "all right," suggesting Rooney must be mad to have not been put off coaching. But the retired forward's hunger to make an impact in this side of the sport hasn't wilted just yet.

Rooney continued: "I think you always have that ego, don't you? You always have that confidence you could go in and get the best out of a bad or difficult situation. Obviously, that wasn't the case [at Plymouth]. I am going to enjoy time with my family, though."

Another of Rooney's old United team-mates, Roy Keane, suggested Wazza's "strengths might come out" were he to get a job working with a higher-standard player. He concurred, saying each of his coaching positions to date had put him "in a challenging situation" from the start.

The former England frontman said he'd have "no problem" taking over an under-21 team or taking up another coaching role on someone else's staff. The Stick to Football cast also discussed the current troubles at Tottenham, where Ange Postecoglou could soon find himself out of a job.

"I'll put my name forward," joked Rooney as the room erupted in acknowledgement that particular position may be out of reach. However, some Spurs fans may take just about anything that resembles change as they sit 15th in the Premier League, where they haven't won a game since December 15.

Some may laugh off the idea of Rooney coaching in the top flight, given his struggles in the Championship and Major League Soccer to date. But he hasn't hidden his ultimate desire to take over one of his former employers in England.

"Managing Manchester United or Everton is the aim, these big jobs are where you want to get to," he said on Match of the Day after his Birmingham sacking in January 2024. "But it's a process I have got to go through the steps and get myself back on track. I want to get myself back into management to make sure in the next 10 years I'm hopefully in a position to go into one of the big jobs."

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