Wayne Rooney has proclaimed that he wishes to manage Manchester United within the next decade. The former Red Devil made the comments during an appearance on BBC‘s Match of the Day on Wednesday. Rooney was working as an analyst on the popular soccer highlight show during United’s FA Cup fixture against Nottingham Forest.
The now 38-year-old coach most recently took over the helm at Birmingham City back in October. Despite signing a three-and-a-half-year contract at the club, Rooney was fired less than three months into the job. As a result, the former England international has been free and available since the beginning of the new year.
Rooney’s goal is to manage Man Utd or Everton within 10 years
Although his last job did not exactly go well, Rooney told the television audience that he wants to return to coaching as soon as possible.
“I definitely want to get back into management. It was a setback what happened at Birmingham but I’m a fighter and I want to get back into it,” stated Rooney.
“You know as a manager [being sacked] is part of the job and you will have setbacks. It’s about how you bounce back. I’ve had some good time to reflect and will make sure I get it right next time.”
Not only did the recent failure not deter the former star, but he also has aspirations of coaching his former Premier League clubs in the future. “Managing Manchester United or Everton is the aim, these big jobs are where you want to get to,” Rooney continued.
“But it’s a process I have got to go through the steps and get myself back on track. I want to get myself back into management to make sure in the next 10 years I’m hopefully in a position to go into one of the big jobs.”
The former star has not yet found success in management
Soccer coaches always tend to want the biggest jobs in the world. This is especially the case for a former player keen on returning to a club where he had success. Nevertheless, Rooney’s record in the dugout is not particularly impressive. In fact, during stays with three different teams, the Englishman has managed to win just 26% of his total matches in charge.
Rooney initially transitioned into coaching with Derby County midway through the 2020/21 season. As the club sat bottom of the Championship table in November, Rooney first took over the team on an interim basis. While the former star player did not post an exceptional win rate in his first coaching job, he did help guide the Rams to safety at the end of the season. Derby avoided relegation to League One by just one point.
The Derby job has, so far, been the most successful spell for Rooney on the sidelines. After leaving the English side in the summer of 2022, he joined Major League Soccer club D.C. United. The American team sat bottom of the Eastern Conference table following the completion of the 2022 campaign in the States. United then finished 12th of 15 clubs in the conference the following year.
Manchester United will certainly not be interested in hiring Rooney any time soon. While there is mutual respect for their former star, the coach has to prove that he can thrive on the sidelines before making the major move to Old Trafford. Another spell with a lower-level English club seems like the most likely upcoming destination for Rooney in the future.
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