Rooney ´angry´ as Plymouth tenure starts with dire defeat

Wayne Rooney described himself as “angry” after watching his Plymouth Argyle side begin their Championship campaign with a meek 4-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

Rooney’s first competitive game at the helm was one to forget as Wednesday ran riot at Hillsborough, with Jamal Lowe, Josh Windass and Michael Smith among the scorers.

The Manchester United and England great has now recorded just two wins in his last 16 Championship games in charge of Birmingham City and Plymouth, drawing four and losing 10.

Speaking to Sky Sports in the aftermath of Sunday’s defeat, he hit out at his players for failing to do the basics against a well-drilled Wednesday side.

“The scoreline was deserved. We conceded four goals from four crosses. The basics of the game were not there,” Rooney said.

“We didn’t take the ball well enough or handle the crowd. We allowed them to get a foothold in the game, and we let it run out and conceded two more goals.

“I’m disappointed and angry, because that’s not the performance I wanted to see. We spoke about their threats from crosses.

“We spoke about Barry Bannan and we let him run the game and didn’t get close enough to him. That wasn’t acceptable.

4.85 xG more than any side managed in a Championship game last season (plus 30 shots + 62 touches in the opp. box).

The only player in Sheffield Wednesday’s starting XI who didn’t create a chance was the goalkeeper.

Not the best start for Rooney’s Plymouth, you’d have to say. pic.twitter.com/KSMtNrs02W

— Jamie Kemp (@jamiemkemp) August 11, 2024

“The players have to earn a right to play. You can lose football games, that happens, but there’s a way you want to see your players run, work and tackle.

“We’ve had a lot of fans come a long way, and the performance we’ve given wasn’t good enough. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Wednesday racked up 30 shots totalling a huge 4.85 expected goals (xG) in Sunday’s game, with 24 of those efforts coming from inside the Plymouth area.

Plymouth, meanwhile, amassed just five attempts worth 0.31 xG, hitting the target once and only recording eight touches inside their hosts’ box.