Despite Wayne Rooney’s team’s ongoing inconsistencies, Graham Stack is confident in Plymouth Argyle’s ability to make decisions.
Despite pulling off a spectacular comeback to draw 3-3 with Preston in their most recent game, Argyle has lost their last three games. Rooney collected his first red card in the position earlier this season, and the setback came soon after he saw his club lose to Cardiff City 5-0 from the stands.
As they go ready to play again at Leeds on Saturday, it looks like Plymouth is ready for a possible relegation struggle. It’s not all bad news, either.
Even after a difficult stint at Home Park that ended in controversial situations, Stack is still a strong believer in Argyle’s abilities. The former Wolves and Arsenal goalie also waxed poetic about the team’s future under Rooney.
He told Plymouth Live, in association with Altenar.com, “Plymouth has got the potential to be a fantastic club, a really, really successful club.” Because of their fan base, stadium, and the atmosphere they can create, they have the ability to finish in the top 10 of the Championship most seasons. And it’s amazing, truly. When they get moving, the Green Army is a different class.
And pay attention—with Wayne Rooney leading the way, he’s been playing at an extremely high level lately. It appears that he has them ticking, which is fantastic, even though I know they were crushed against Cardiff when he was in the stands.
With just one goal and just one point from six away games this season, Plymouth has had the most travel-related difficulties of any team in the Championship. However, the team has a glimmer of hope after going four games without a loss at Home Park, including three wins.
Ibrahim Cissoko and Morgan Whittaker have emerged as important players for the future, and Andre Gray, a former Premier League striker, has scored his first goal for the team. Stack is happy that the team has chosen to continue with Rooney as manager, despite the fact that the future appeared bleak after the team lost their first four league games under his leadership.
When questioned about the coach’s early form struggles, Stack, who made five senior games for the Gunners, replied, “It did [look precarious for Rooney].” However, the chairman and those above deserve some credit because they could have likely pulled the trigger to remove him and replace him with someone who takes an additional two or three months to settle in.
“So congratulations to the Plymouth community and the leadership for sticking with him and giving him time. I also hope things works out well for him.
After failing to live up to expectations in his previous position at Birmingham City, where he was fired after less than three months, Rooney might feel pressured to perform on the south coast. The team was relegated under his leadership after his previous success at Derby County was ultimately tainted by financial difficulties.
Despite all of his achievements as a player, there is a feeling that Rooney needs to demonstrate more at Plymouth if he wants to give people hope that he has what it takes to replicate that success on the field. Additionally, Stack is supporting Argyle as a whole as well as the England legend to overcome the challenges and reach their full potential.