Former Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney, now manager of Plymouth Argyle in the Championship, has revealed that watching a reality show helped him overcome the disappointment of a 0-4 defeat in their opening game.
Plymouth bounced back from their disastrous start with a 3-0 victory against League Two side Cheltenham in the Carabao Cup midweek. Rooney expressed satisfaction with the response but admitted that a reality show called “First Dates” helped him deal with the fallout from the loss.
Speaking to the BBC, Rooney said: “The pressure is always there, it’s part of football. After the game on Sunday, I turned my phone off and watched an episode of ‘First Dates.’ It’s important that you can turn your phone off and get away from it (the media). Then Monday morning, I re-watched the game and started thinking about it. You might have a bad game, it happens, and it’s important to be able to turn your phone off because sometimes you overthink things, and it can affect your mentality.”
Rooney was heavily criticized following the 4-goal defeat. While his ability as a player was never in question, his credentials as a manager remain a source of doubt. He had a poor spell in charge of Birmingham last season, winning only two out of 15 games, leading to their relegation from the Championship. Rooney’s reputation as a player has brought him under intense scrutiny and amplified the pressure on him.
Rooney said: “I understand, I know I’m under more scrutiny, that’s fine, I can handle it. I know what we’re doing, the targets we want to achieve. The defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday was a blip, I don’t think it’s time to panic yet, we have to get the players involved, talk about it, and move on. I had some very strong words to say about the players’ performance, and I wanted to see a response from them, thankfully I got it.”
This article is from a user submission and does not represent the views of Soccer News Pick. If you repost it, please indicate the source: https://www.soccernewspick.com/premier-league/21839.html
