Wayne Rooney gives no thought to a potential sacking by Plymouth and insists he is focussing on improving the squad in January.
The Pilgrims have fallen to second-bottom in the Championship table after a run of only one win in 10 matches. The woeful return has heaped pressure on the former Manchester United and England star, who took over the reins at Home Park in the summer.
Rooney retains the support of the Plymouth board and was publicly backed by chairman Simon Hallett earlier this month.
He has claimed to be embracing the pressure that he finds himself under and revealed that his focus is on winter transfer targets to bolster his squad.
‘There is always honest conversations between myself, Neil (Dewsnip, director of football), Andrew (Parkinson, chief executive officer, Simon – whoever that may be – about how can we improve, and from a recruitment point of view what players can we bring in to help, what players do we need, what players do we need to get out.
‘These are all conversations which are going on, so come January we are in the best possible position we can be to get what we need. Getting the injured players back will be like new signings for us but we all know, we are under no illusion, we need to improve the squad, that’s there for everyone to see.
Wayne Rooney has claimed that he is focussing on January targets that could improve his side rather than the treat of the sack
Plymouth have fallen to second-bottom in the Championship after a run of only one win in 10
The Pilgrims appointed former Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan as Rooney’s No 2 last week
‘We are working extremely hard to put ourselves in the best position to do that as early as possible.’
Last week, Plymouth appointed former Manchester United assistant Mike Phelan as Rooney’s new No 2, following the departure of Pete Shuttleworth.
The 62-year-old spent nine years at Old Trafford in two spells and coached Rooney for five of those. His arrival at Plymouth did not instantly turnaround fortunes as the side suffered a 2-1 defeat by Swansea in his first match on the sidelines.
Plymouth have the unenviable task of travelling to Bramall Lane and facing the league leaders Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon.
The Pilgrim’s away form has been their major issue this season, with them having lost nine and drawn two of their past 10 games on the road, conceding 29 goals in the process.
Should other results go their way, Rooney’s side could climb as 20th in the division with an unlikely win. However, failure to claim victory will leave the door open for Hull City, currently sitting at the bottom of the table, to leapfrog them.
The following Championship clash sees Rooney lock horns with his former United team-mate Michael Carrick, whose Middlesbrough side are in the hunt for a play-off spot.
