Plymouth Argyle: Miron Muslic takes Wayne Rooney dig in "nowhere near" claim | OneFootball

The Austrian just might keep Plymouth up, against all odds.

Miron Muslic has claimed that Plymouth Argyle would be "nowhere near" the relegation zone had he been in charge at the start of the season and not Wayne Rooney.

Plymouth still have a chance of staying up this season with two games left to play: that is an astonishing statement that not many people would have made when Muslic was appointed in January.

Rooney, the Austrian's successor, left him a wreck that he has had to put back together and start to make into something worthy of its current second tier status, which they have surprisingly shown in recent weeks.

Their wins over promotion hopefuls Coventry City (3-1) and Sheffield (2-1), and Norwich City too (2-1), have given them the faintest of opportunities to escape the drop.

Miron Muslic pins blame on Wayne Rooney

Had he been in charge from the start, however, instead of Rooney, Muslic believes that the Pilgrims wouldn't be in this position at this stage of the season.

Following Argyle's victory against Coventry, he said, via The Mirror: "I think if I'm the head coach from day one we will be far, far away from the relegation zone. We would be safe five games ago already. I truly believe if I will be here with my staff from day one we will be nowhere near where we are right now."

It's at home where Muslic has been able to get the best tune out of his players. Since he's been in charge, Plymouth have been the thirteenth best team in the Championship, comfortably away from the bottom three, and it's largely because of their record at Home Park.

There they have won five and drawn two of their 11 matches since Muslic took over. Rooney won four of his 11 games there, but he didn't manage to pick up a single victory at an opposition's ground during his tenure.

The England and Manchester United legend was appointed by Plymouth following a dismal stint in charge of Birmingham City in the 2023/24 campaign. He was sacked early in January 2024 after just 15 games in charge of the club. They went on to get relegated to League One, being held in the bottom three by Argyle on the final day of the season.

Plymouth must stick with Muslic no matter way

If the Austrian manages to pull the Pilgrims from the fiery jaws of relegation, then it is obvious that they must go forward with him in charge; he would deserve nothing less. Even if they do remain on course, Plymouth should still probably give Muslic a crack at returning the club to the Championship this season.

He arrived in Devon and was greeted by a really poor squad who were bang out of form and confidence, and, therefore, looked like they were only heading in one direction. But that first speech that he gave that was applauded so much by supporters brought hope to the club, a hope that still remains despite all the odds being against them.

Muslic is the reason why Plymouth have a chance to survive. Maybe, just maybe, they will actually pull off the impossible. The fact that it's still a possibility should grant him more time to build this club back to where it wants to be.