Wayne Rooney has warned his Plymouth players that they will not play again if they repeat the performance of their heavy opening-day defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
Rooney, appointed in May, kicked off his tenure with a dismal 4-0 loss at Hillsborough, a scoreline which arguably could have been more.
It is the former England captain’s fourth managerial role and first since lasting just 15 games in charge of Birmingham last season, which saw the Blues win only two games.
“I’ve told them after the game if I see a performance like that again from any player – whether they’ve been at the club for a long time or whether they’ve just come into the club as a new player – they will not play,” Rooney told BBC Radio Devon.
“From my point of view you can lose football games, that happens, but you have to do the basics and you have to make sure you run and you tackle and you’re getting to the ball and that wasn’t there.
“The players know, they understand they have to be at it every game.”
Wayne Rooney on today’s defeat.#pafc
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) August 11, 2024
Argyle have signed six players since Rooney took over this summer but the 38-year-old insisted he will not panic despite the concerning performance.
“It’s the first game of the season and of course we’re disappointed,” Rooney said.
“But I don’t think it’s time to panic, I’ve seen the work we’ve done throughout the pre-season which gives me encouragement.
“If players become available who we feel can improve the team then of course we’ll look at that, but I don’t think we can start panic buying after one game.”
