Wayne Rooney takes third victory in 17 games as manager to steady Plymouth ship

Former striker walks off pitch to standing ovation after easing into next round with line-up much changed from disastrous season opener

Finally, Wayne Rooney has something to cheer about.
Sacked by Birmingham last season after a disastrous spell as manager, and humbled on day one in his new role in charge of Plymouth at the weekend with a 4-0 Championship defeat by Sheffield Wednesday, the former England striker was able to walk off the Home Park pitch to a standing ovation after a 3-0 victory over League Two Cheltenham in the first round of the English League Cup.
The 38-year-old needed no reminding that he is already under intense scrutiny but Argyle’s board have made no secret of the fact that they believe he is the right man to restore the club’s fortunes after last season’s difficulties, which saw them preserve their Championship status only on the final day of the season.
Rooney made wholesale changes to his starting line-up last night after the Wednesday debacle, with just goalkeeper Conor Hazard and midfielder Darko Gyabi keeping their places.
A largely uneventful first half offered little to encourage many inside Home Park. Ryan Hardie, Callum Wright and Bali Mumba all had decent half chances for the home side, whilst at the other end Ethon Archer’s long-range effort, which cannoned off the post, then Hazard, was the closest they came to breaking the deadlock.
The second half, however, was a different story for Argyle and Rooney, ultimately easing into the next rounds of this season’s Carabao Cup with goals from Ben Waine, Hardie and substitute Mustapha Bundu.
Waine tapped in the first, a simple finish from close range after Joe Day had done well to deny Adam Randell’s free-kick from nestling in the top corner, after which Hardie doubled the lead with a classy finish from a sublime cross by Ibrahaim Cissoko.
Bundu put the icing on the cake for the home side, rifling in a third late on from the edge of the box.
It was a finish Rooney, in his heyday, would rightly have been proud of.
“There is always pressure,” said Rooney, whose side now face a second-round trip to Watford.
“It’s been there since I started playing at 16, it was there when I became a manager, and now it’s with me right now. That’s part of the game, but it’s important you can switch off. Thankfully, I’m pretty good at it – after I finished the game off on Sunday, I switched my phone off and watched an episode of First Dates!”
He added: “As I said before, I was shocked, I was surprised with how we performed because I hadn’t seen anything like that from us in pre-season. Tonight, though, I saw a lot more of what I want to see in my team and now we have to put Sunday out of our minds.”
Rooney admitted that the criticism of Sunday’s 4-0 battering at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday was justified, but dismissed any idea that his team are already in trouble.
“If I was a pundit watching that game back on Sunday, I’d have reacted in the same way, so I understand it, I get it,” he said. “I get with myself there’s a lot more scrutiny, but that’s fine, I can deal with that.
“I know what we’re doing, I know what we’re trying to achieve at this club, so there is no reason for us to panic in any way.”