Plymouth announce Wayne Rooney successor as little-known Austrian boss, 42, is named new manager
PLYMOUTH have announced little-known Austrian Miron Muslic as successor to sacked boss Wayne Rooney.
Muslic, 42, is taking over the Championship’s bottom side after he himself was AXED a month ago – by Belgian top-flight side Cercle Brugge.
Manchester United legend Rooney only arrived at Argyle in the summer but paid the price for an alarming dip in form following a mini-revival.
And Plymouth unveiled his replacement on the eve of Saturday’s FA Cup third-round trip to Prem side Brentford.
Muslic played for a string of Austrian clubs below the top level before becoming caretaker chief at the last of them, Ried, in the second tier.
He then bossed Ried youths, Austrian 2 rivals Floridsdorfer and Ried’s first team in the same division, before Cercle pounced in September 2022.
He steered them away from relegation trouble for a sixth-placed finish but was sacked on December 2 last year.
It followed a 3-2 loss against bottom side Beerschot after Cercle led 2-0.
A statement from the Pilgrims read: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Miron Muslic as Argyle’s new Head Coach. Welcome to Argyle, Miron!”
Plymouth appointed former England skipper Rooney, 39, despite his poor spell in charge of Birmingham.
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And after the ex-Derby boss was axed, Argyle chairman Simon Hallett denied his arrival had been a publicity stunt.
Hallett told the club website: “Raising our profile was not one of the considerations in hiring Wayne Rooney.
“We thought that he would be able to help us win football matches.
“During Wayne’s tenure as Head Coach, we saw glimpses of what was possible, but clearly both results and underlying performances were showing few signs of being at the level we need.”
But Hallett added: “We thank Wayne for what he did achieve in his months at the Club.
“He united the players, helped restore a positive attitude at the Club and won over the fans whose support had been tested for a few months in 2024.
“His approachable nature and down to earth personality made him a popular figure and we will miss him.”
Wayne Rooney's record-breaking career
WAYNE Rooney took the football world by storm when he made his debut for 2002 with Everton.
He quickly became the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer aged 16 years and 342 days and was named the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year.
The striker joined Manchester United in 2004 and spent 13 years at Old Trafford. He went on to make 559 appearances for the Red Devils and scored 253 goals. To this day he is still the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Following his spell with United, Rooney returned to Everton for a season. He also spent one-season stints with D.C. United and Derby County at the end of his career.
As well as his impressive club career, Rooney is also England’s second-highest goalscorer with 53 goals in 120 appearances, behind only Harry Kane.
After hanging up his boots, the England icon turned to a career in management.
He took charge of Derby County in 2020 and managed to just about save the club from relegation from the Championship at the end of his first season.
However, with Derby handed a 21-point deduction the following campaign, he was unable to keep them up again and subsequently left.
Then came a 15-month spell in charge of MLS side D.C. United. He failed to impress during his time in Washington and parted ways with the club at the end of the 2023 regular season.
Rooney was controversially handed the Birmingham job in October 2023, replacing John Eustace with the club doing well and sixth in the Championship table.
However, in 15 games he suffered nine defeats and managed just two wins. He was sacked in January 2024 with Birmingham down in 20th. The club were relegated to League One at the end of the campaign.
He returned to management in May with Plymouth Argyle but managed just five wins in 25 games. The United legend now finds himself out of work once again.