Wayne Rooney said he was “hurting” and accepted “you have to look at every possible outcome” after yet another defeat on the road left his Plymouth Argyle rooted to the bottom of the Championship.
Argyle lost 2-0 to a resurgent Oxford United, who have won two matches in a row under new head coach Gary Rowett, and clawed their way out of the relegation zone.
After falling to their 11th defeat away from home this season, Argyle’s fans started to turn on their head coach this afternoon, joining in with Oxford’s supporters who were singing ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ before chanting ‘We want Rooney out’ and ‘Wayne Rooney, your football is s***’.
There was also a chorus of boos and further chants of ‘We want Rooney out’ when the former England captain made his way over to the away fans at the end of the game.
Asked after the game whether he would consider his position, Rooney told reporters: “You have to look at every possible outcome, I think that’s normal with the run of results we’re going through. You have to feel as if you can turn it around, can the players turn it around, can I turn it around, can the coaches turn it around? That’s all stuff we really have to look at.”
Questioned whether he feared for his job, Rooney replied: “That’s a question for the board. I understand how football works, all I can do is keep trying to work as hard as I can.”
Rooney said he expected more from his side today after suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat to Frank Lampard’s Coventry City on Boxing Day but didn’t get the reaction he wanted.
He said he understood the fans’ frustration and took responsibility for that, with Argyle now without a win in their last nine games.
“I know football, I know how it works and when you hear the fans as well, it’s a big moment in the season for us,” Rooney told reporters. “I get it, I understand it, you want to see your team win, you want to see your team running, you want to see them tackling and when you’re losing games, as we’re losing, that frustration is there. I get it.
“It’s difficult, of course it is, and that’s part of the game. It’s frustrating. We know the work we’re doing is good work, unfortunately, we’re not getting the results. I’m not someone whose emotions are high when you win or on the floor when you lose, I try to keep myself balanced. It hurts, it’s not nice, it’s a disappointment, we have to keep trying.”
Argyle are next in action at home to Bristol City on New Year’s Day, a side who beat Rooney’s side 4-0 in the reverse fixture last month.
“It hurts and I want to try and get out of it,” Rooney said. “I’m a confident person, it’s a very difficult moment, of course, that’s tough but I believe in what I do and I believe in how we work as a coaching staff, hopefully, we can start with getting a result [against Bristol City].”
GO DEEPER
Plymouth not considering sacking Rooney, says chairman
(Isabelle Field/Plymouth Argyle via Getty Images)
