Plymouth Argyle: Update emerges on Wayne Rooney's future after Coventry City drubbing | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney's future at Plymouth Argyle is seemingly in doubt

Wayne Rooney's future as Plymouth Argyle head coach appears in further doubt following yet another chastening away defeat for the Pilgrims, who now find themselves rooted to the foot of the Championship table almost exaclty halfway through the 2024/25 campaign.

The iconic ex-Manchester United striker has been described as being left "hanging onto his job" by The Sun in the wake of yesterday's bruising 4-0 loss away to Frank Lampard's Coventry City, which consigned Plymouth to a fifth defeat in six league matches.

Plymouth's home form has been modest this term, and they recently claimed a well-fought 3-3 draw against Middlesbrough last weekend.

However, their struggles on the road have been well-documented, and Plymouth are still searching for a first away win after 12 attempts.

With just three goals scored and a whopping 33 conceded in that time, in a miserable run which has included defeats by a margin of three or more goals to the Sky Blues, Bristol City, Norwich, Leeds and fellow strugglers Cardiff, it's no surprise pressure is mounting on Rooney as we approach the season's mid-way point.

Argyle are currently rock bottom of the Championship and, at least away from home, there aren't any suggestions that the rot will stop anytime soon.

That doesn't bode well for Sunday's six-pointer showdown away to Oxford United, who are just three points above them at the time of writing, and one must wonder whether the outcome of their trip to the Kassam Stadium will decide Rooney's tenure.

It has been reported by The Sun that Rooney is now fighting for his job and faces the sack amid Plymouth's dismal run of form.

For the moment at least, it remains unclear just how much time he has left to win over the trust of Argyle's key decision-makers, but that Oxford match already feels crucial.

The Boxing Day defeat to Coventry was hugely damaging to Rooney, who aired his frustrations and admitted he realises he needs to start getting results in order to save his job at Home Park.

Rooney explained to talkSPORT: "The first four or five minutes there was nowhere near good enough.

"The goals they score is what we identified, really how Coventry score goals and where their threats come from. I think from a defensive point of view, especially in wide areas, in full-back areas, we weren't switched on quick enough.

"We're two teams, basically. One team at home, one team away, and we're trying everything to try and fix that, whether that's a psychology situation, we've tried absolutely everything to try and fix that. It's a concern, of course.

Rooney, who received "sacked in the morning" chants and was booed alongside his players by the travelling supporters, also took time to respond to questions pertaining to his future.

The 39-year-old said: "It's football, life as a manager, you need to get results and win games, so I know that, I'm not stupid from that point of view.

"So, yes, we have to dig in and find a way."

Time may be running out for Wayne Rooney at Plymouth Argyle

It's becoming difficult to escape the feeling that time is running out for Rooney to make good of Argyle's show of faith, which was taken at the end of last season after their Championship status was secured for another year.

At this moment in time, however, it's very difficult to envisage Argyle having enough to stave off the threat of the drop for the second season running.

While Rooney hasn't been helped by injury setbacks to the likes of Ibrahim Cissokho and Morgan Whittaker, their away form has been a huge concern even when the duo have been fit and featuring, and Plymouth are now in danger of being cut adrift in the battle to stay in the Championship.

Their survival hopes are in increasing doubt and that's going to make it hard for Plymouth's hierarchy to stand by Rooney for too much longer, unless their fortunes pick up quickly.

The trip to Oxford feels mightily-important, of course, while fixtures against Bristol City, Stoke and QPR - along with another meeting with Gary Rowett's side on January 14 - are also sure to have a big part to play in Rooney's immediate future, if he's still in charge come the turn of the year.