"I genuinely think" - Ally McCoist makes Wayne Rooney, Plymouth Argyle claim | OneFootball

The pundit believes the Pilgrims offer the manager the chance to resurrect his career this season

Former Rangers striker Ally McCoist has backed Wayne Rooney to be a success at Plymouth Argyle, and believes the former Manchester United man can turn his reputation around with a good spell in Devon.

The Pilgrims moved to make the former Birmingham City manager their boss at the end of last month, having parted ways with Ian Foster on Easter Monday.

The management duo of director of football Neil Dewsnip and Kevin Nancekivell oversaw the final six matches of the season for the Greens - as they held onto their Championship status by the narrowest of margins - before they made their managerial decision.

And after a disastrous spell at St Andrew’s in his previous spell in charge of a football club, Rooney has been backed to succeed at Home Park by the 61-year-old former Scotland international.

Wayne Rooney backed by Ally McCoist to revel in role at Home Park with Plymouth Argyle

Rooney’s appointment makes him Argyle’s third manager in the last six months, with Steven Schumacher jumping ship to Stoke City just days before Christmas in 2023, having steered the Pilgrims to promotion in the season before.

Former England youth boss Foster was then given the chance to perform in his first role in club football, before three wins from 14 matches saw him quickly axed after less than three months in the job.

As Nancekivell and Dewsnip came in to save the day in the final stretch of the season, Rooney was also recovering from a torrid time in the Midlands, where he won just two of his 15 league matches in charge of Birmingham.

But despite that tough time in charge of the side that were then relegated from the second tier later that season, McCoist has backed the former England international to bounce back in his next role.

When asked about his thoughts on Rooney’s appointment in Devon, he said: “Brilliant – I’m delighted! It firstly shows you how much he wanted to go back into management and how much he loves the game.

“Plymouth are a club that’s done okay in recent seasons and he’s certainly helped put them back on the map.

“I genuinely think he’ll do well there. I wouldn’t say it’s last chance saloon for him, but it’s getting to the stage where he needs to get some good results early on and kick on.”

Wayne Rooney aims to focus on youth after taking Plymouth Argyle role

One of the main factors in Rooney’s appointment with the Devon side was his willingness to blood young players in the starting lineup during his previous managerial career.

That’s according to Argyle chairman Simon Hallett, who believes the former Everton man’s career pathway lends himself to being someone likely to give academy stars a chance.

Hallett said upon Rooney’s arrival: “It's about a willingness to use young players, particularly important at Argyle over the next few years, as we bring on the Brickfields development for our Academy.

“Many managers are reluctant to take risks with young players, and Wayne as an Academy product himself has shown pretty aggressively that he's prepared to use players at a very young age in the first team.”

With the likes of Adam Randell and Michael Cooper progressing into the first-team in recent years, Argyle will be looking to Rooney to get the best out of the next generation of talent looking to make a name for themselves in Devon.