Update: Man United icon Wayne Rooney warned off new job amid return links News

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has been without a managerial job since being sacked by Plymouth Argyle on New Year’s Eve

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has been advised not to apply for the job at Blackburn Rovers despite being linked with a return to the Championship.

Rooney was sacked on New Year’s Eve after recording just five victories in the first half of Plymouth Argyle’s season. The former striker has since been occupying himself with punditry gigs including most recently covering Aston Villa’s Champions League clash with PSG for Amazon Prime on Tuesday night.

According to talkSPORT, a return to management could be on the cards for Rooney. They claim that Valerien Ismael is currently on thin ice with the Blackburn board after a poor run of results saw their chances of finishing in the play-offs decrease significantly.

Rovers picked up their first victory under Ismael last weekend as they beat Luton Town 1-0 but they sit seven points adrift of the top six. Should the Lancashire club decide to part ways with Ismael, it is thought Rooney has a shot at taking on the job next.

However, reacting to that news on the radio station, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan insisted Rooney should steer clear of a return to management. “They’ll get what they deserve,” Jordan said in a message to Blackburn.

“Just out of curiosity, why [should Rooney get another management job]? You’ve had four jobs and at none of them has he set the heather on fire.

“DC United was not a great success, Birmingham was a disaster and Plymouth was a disaster. When we sat in the studio around about this time last year and I could barely contain my mirth at the nonsense coming out of the Plymouth owner’s mouth, I told you this would be a disaster.

“Did he make them better? Were they better? Were Birmingham better? Any other footballer or football manager – with due respect to Wayne – this would not be a conversation.

“I’m not suggesting that Wayne Rooney doesn’t deserve credit for wanting to continue to do it, but we should be praising the acumen and at this moment I’m not sure what acumen he’s shown in the dugout that proves this is even worthy of a conversation.”

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