Steven Schumacher must be on some Plymouth Argyle minds amid Wayne Rooney news | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle's poor form must have some thinking about a return to their former manager

Another heavy defeat for Plymouth Argyle last weekend will surely have supporters pining for the days of Steven Schumacher instead of Wayne Rooney.

It has been reported by The Telegraph that the 39-year-old has just two games left to save his position at Home Park after another poor display on Saturday.

The Pilgrims lost 4-0 to Bristol City, just days after being on the receiving end of a 6-1 hammering away to Norwich City midweek.

While Rooney’s side remain outside of the bottom three in the Championship table at this stage, the club must be weighing up their options now in the event a change is needed.

It is simply unsustainable for a team to be conceding so frequently, even if they have been able to manage positive results in this first half of the season.

Relegation will be a serious concern if things don’t immediately improve, and another glut of goals going in against Oxford United this weekend could even be enough to warrant movement in the dugout, without even getting to the Swansea City clash on 10 December.

Steven Schumacher’s availability

Schumacher is an obvious potential candidate to replace Rooney, should Plymouth seek a change in manager soon.

The 40-year-old is currently available after his sacking from Stoke City at the start of the campaign.

Despite ditching the Pilgrims for a Championship rival just 12 months ago, supporters would surely welcome his return amid the threat of relegation to League One.

Schumacher oversaw the team’s promotion to the second tier, bringing them back to this level in 2023 for the first time since 2010.

The League One title that accompanied them was also a great accomplishment that supporters will always remember fondly, particularly given they beat out Ipswich Town to top spot, who went on to make a return to the Premier League the following campaign.

Schumacher would be a strong candidate to steady the sinking ship currently being overseen by Rooney.

If Plymouth are serious about staying up, then it might even be their only option at this point given the ire of supporters they are currently risking.

Rooney’s controversial appointment

The appointment of Rooney was always controversial given how disastrous his brief spell at Birmingham City was last season, where he won just two of 15 games in charge.

The former England star is obviously a big name, and that does have its advantages for the club, but ultimately his track record as a coach isn’t stellar.

It seemed that a 4-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday in his opening game in charge at Home Park had been resolved, with performances and results improving in the weeks that followed.

But this recent slide back into defensive shambles has raised a lot of question marks over Rooney’s long-term viability for this role.

Plymouth have conceded 38 goals from 18 games, the most of anyone in the division by a total of five.

At that rate, over a 46-game campaign, the Pilgrims will concede 97 times, which is not a figure that’s likely to keep them in the division.

This December period is now crucial for Rooney, as it was always inevitable that he would be under pressure at the first sign of poor form.

His team will play eight more times between now and 4 January, and unless they can arrest this slide in defensive form then it could be Schumacher back in charge by the new year.