Wayne Rooney returns to management this weekend as his Plymouth side take on Sheffield Wednesday, live on talkSPORT.
Rooney was sacked by Birmingham City after only 83 days in charge last season, but he’s now back in the second-tier with the Pilgrims.
His new team only just survived relegation last campaign and it will be a tough task once again to try and prevent a bottom three finish.
Another side who were down towards the bottom of the table were Wednesday, but the appointment of Danny Rohl was a masterstroke.
Rohl has turned fortunes around at Hillsborough and now they are considered a contender for reaching the play-offs this time out.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Plymouth: Rooney returns
Things ended abruptly for Rooney the last time he was manager of a Championship club.
After only 15 games in charge, he was dismissed as Birmingham boss, with the Blues only winning two times during his tenure.
It was only his third job since retirement as a player and he would have been keen to have had some more time to turn things around.
That unfortunately wasn’t the case, but Rooney is now back in a role four months later with Plymouth.
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He begins the season expecting another battle at the bottom of the table and will look to take experiences from his time at St. Andrews with him.
If this year goes well and they do stay up, the England icon has high hopes for his new club as when he was appointed, he said: “Hopefully at the end of a timeframe which we have in, we can get closer to the Premier League.”
At the moment that seems like a dream, but Rooney’s aim is to make it a reality.
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Sheffield Wednesday vs Plymouth: Team news
New signings Max Lowe and Jamal Lowe are both expected to come straight into the starting line-up for Wednesday.
Former Southampton right-back Yan Valery will also feature for his competitive debut while Brighton loanee James Beadle will be in goal.
Wingers Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama will provide a huge threat on each side.
As for Plymouth, Morgan Whittaker remains at the club despite interest from European sides and he will continue to play until a potential move happens.
Victor Palsson, who used to play for Rooney at DC United is likely to start in defence while proven goalscorer Ryan Hardie leads the line.
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- Plymouth have won five of their last eight league games against Sheffield Wednesday, though all three defeats in that run have come at Hillsborough.
- The home side has won each of the last six league meetings between Sheffield Wednesday (3) and Plymouth (3) since the Pilgrims won 4-2 at Hillsborough in March 2011.
- Sheffield Wednesday haven’t won their opening league game in any of the last three seasons (D2 L1), losing 2-1 at home to Southampton in their opening game last term.
- Plymouth have won their opening league game in four of the last five seasons (L1), having lost six of their previous seven openers before this (W1).
Sheffield Wednesday vs Plymouth: What has been said?
Barry Bannan has warned Sheffield Wednesday fans that some errors will be made due to their play style this season.
But the captain believes that those at Hillsborough will ‘enjoy’ the tactics.
He admitted: “You will see hiccups, you look at Man City and they try to play out from the back, Brighton.
“I watched Brighton last year and they lost 5-0 to Everton, all from losing the ball in quite dangerous areas.
“But they stick to playing that way, they go out the next week and won playing that way.
“There will be hiccups along the way but I’m sure the fans, if they stick with it, they’ll really enjoy the way the team is going to play this year.”
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Sheffield Wednesday vs Plymouth: talkSPORT coverage
This Championship clash will take place on Sunday, August 11.
Kick-off at Hillsborough is scheduled for 4pm.
talkSPORT will have exclusive live coverage of the game presented by Sam Matterface.
Commentary will come from Adam Bridge and former Scotland striker Chris Iwelumo.
The game will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.
