"Most remarkable" - Sky Sports' Don Goodman offers Plymouth Argyle, Wayne Rooney hope after difficult start | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has exclusively shared a message to Plymouth Argyle and Wayne Rooney with FLW

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman believes that there are positives to take from Wayne Rooney's opening four Championship matches as Plymouth Argyle boss.

The former Derby County and DC United boss was appointed as head coach at Plymouth Argyle following the conclusion of the 2023/24 Championship campaign, where they narrowly avoided relegation to League One on the final day.

That fate befell Birmingham City, though, which many have contributed to Rooney's brief, ill-fated reign in the Second City between October and this January.

Nonetheless, Plymouth supporters largely remain enthused by Rooney's long-term vision for the club after taking the job, having brought in a range of young recruits, deployed a possession-based approach and, most importantly of all, managed to retain star forward Morgan Whittaker in the window.

However, Plymouth are one of just five teams across to remain without a win after four outings, two of which have ended in defeat. Argyle have managed to save face somewhat following a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday on the opening weekend, although they currently sit in 22nd-place with only two goals to their name.

Don Goodman offers Wayne Rooney, Plymouth Argyle verdict

Despite Rooney's best efforts thus far, there are inevitable concerns around Home Park pertaining to the club's slow start and potential lack of goals. However, Goodman has offered some words of encouragement towards the Argyle boss ahead of a daunting upcoming fixture schedule.

Goodman explained.

"To get off to the start they did and lose 4-0 at Hillsborough was a bit of a shocker. But looking at the performances since then, which is what Wayne Rooney will be looking at despite having just two points, it took a stunner for Hull to claim a point at Home Park, they battled at QPR and dug deep against Stoke in a game which didn't have an awful lot in it. To lose that game with a goal late on that went in at the near post was tough.

"There are positives for Wayne Rooney to take. I like the fact that, after the defeat against Sheffield Wednesday, he quickly brought back Bali Mumba, Joe Edwards and Ryan Hardie. The very least you'll get from those players is outright effort and commitment.

"The biggest worry is where are the goals going to come from? They've scored just one goal in four games which is a bit of a worry.

"They've got an incredibly tough run of games coming up, facing Sunderland, West Brom, Luton and Burnley. It's a tough little run which means it might get worse for Plymouth before it gets better.

"I'm sure Wayne will be pleased by the reaction from his side after the opening day but will have undoubtedly hoped for more points."

Plymouth Argyle must retain Wayne Rooney faith for the time being

Plymouth have placed a lot of trust, confidence and faith in Rooney to help them steer clear of any relegation bother and while that has certainly not been the case just yet, it would be unfair if a decision was to be made anytime soon.

Assessing potential managerial casualties at such an early stage of the season is always contentious to say the least but, make no mistake about it, the time at which the initial dismissals occur is imminently approaching.

Of course, Plymouth may have to address Rooney's tenure should their early-season form continue for a more sustained period of time, but any judgement calls are unlikely - and would be both unfair and contradictory to their expression of long-term faith - in the near future.

As Goodman makes reference to, Rooney has a daunting schedule on the horizon. Plymouth will resume league action at home to league leaders Sunderland on Saturday afternoon before subsequent clashes with West Bromwich Albion, Luton Town, Burnley and Blackburn Rovers.

Four of those teams occupy the current top-six positions, while the Hatters were recently relegated from the Premier League and should pick back up before long following a similarly-poor start to proceedings.

Indeed, Plymouth's most viable and realistic opportunity of claiming three points may not come all the way until their October 19 trip to fellow strugglers Cardiff City, who are currently rock bottom of the league.

Their visit to the Welsh Capital initiates a triple-header with appeasing following fixtures against Millwall and Preston North End all in the space of a week, and that may be a more suitable time to make any definitive judgements on Rooney and Plymouth.