Wayne Rooney, Plymouth Argyle development could have silverlining: View | OneFootball

The Pilgrims boss may have inadvertently strengthened his standing at Home Park

Wayne Rooney had a tricky beginning to life in the dugout at Plymouth Argyle, but there are signs the tide against him could be turning.

He arrived following another difficult spell, with Birmingham City last season, that saw him only last in the job a matter of weeks.

Tensions flared in the Pilgrims’ game against Blackburn Rovers, leading to Rooney being dismissed and facing FA charges.

But, after a dramatic climax to that game, the Plymouth manager’s antics may provide a silverlining.

There was no getting away from the fact that the pressure was, and still is, high on Rooney following his relatively disastrous spell with the Blues.

However, having forged the majority of his playing career at Manchester United, Rooney is used to dealing with pressure, and there are positive signs at the Pilgrims.

Plymouth had gone one up against Blackburn Rovers early in the game, but Rovers managed to pull one back with less than five minutes of regular time remaining.

Rooney, remonstrating with the officials following the equaliser, felt there had been a foul on Ryan Hardie in the build-up that wasn’t spotted.

However, he was deemed to have taken his protests too far, was dismissed by the referee and has since been charged by the FA for his conduct. It seems a touchline ban could be forthcoming.

With Rooney in the tunnel watching the final few minutes of the game at Home Park, Pilgrims forward Morgan Whittaker miraculously managed to find a winner seven minutes deep into added time. The crowd erupted, and Rooney was so animated in the tunnel that he ended up breaking the Plymouth club secretary’s glasses in the celebrations.

Plymouth crowd seem to have taken to Rooney more than Birmingham

While directing abuse towards match officials is never something to be celebrated, the way the Plymouth crowd and players reacted to his dismissal was notable.

Rather than turn on the manager and question his composure, as could well have happened at Birmingham, it seemed to create a siege mentality at Home Park, that they were not going to let a referee’s decision take the game away from them.

If Rooney does indeed get a touchline ban, a sizeable silverlining may arrive in carrying that sentiment through into coming weeks.

Having only narrowly avoided relegation last season, everybody at Plymouth needs to be pulling in the same direction to give themselves the best shot at survival, and in the face of adversity against Blackburn, early signs of that mentality were apparent.

Rooney got off to a difficult start at Plymouth, losing 4-0 to another of last season’s strugglers, Sheffield Wednesday.

It looked like history was repeating itself for the Pilgrims boss when he followed that up with two draws and a loss.

But since then, he has proven this side to be capable of beating anyone on their day.

He managed to seal three points against early league leaders Sunderland and overcame Luton Town before nicking the victory against Blackburn in the most dramatic, and memorable, fashion.

Days like that, filled with drama and passion, are what create memories for fans and make them feel an affinity with those involved.

With the backing of the supporters and harmony in the dressing room, Plymouth have more than enough to keep themselves up this season.