Frank Lampard’s Coventry City side beat Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle 4-0 on Boxing Day in a result that leaves the former Manchester United legend’s future in doubt.
Lampard took over the Sky Blues at the end of November, inheriting a team that under the leadership of Mark Robins has established itself as a team in the upper half of the championship. Rooney has been in charge of Plymouth since the summer but is still waiting for his first away win with Argyle.
The south coast side were badly beaten away at the Coventry Building Society Arena, scoring four unanswered first-half goals. Callum Wright completed an infamous afternoon for Plymouth with a red card in the 87th minute.
Rooney and Lampard have won 70 England caps together and have met 28 times for different clubs, including the FA Cup final and Champions League. But the pair are far from those glitzy showcase events.
Despite sitting firmly at the base EnglandRooney insisted he was “the right man” to remain in charge of Plymouth. “Yes, I believe I am,” the former Everton striker insisted after the game. “I know how football works, I’m not stupid. You have to pick up the results.
“For me, the biggest frustration of the whole season is that we look like two different teams at home and away. So psychologically, is there a problem? That’s something we’re looking at. I’m sure the fans have questions and a lot of people from the outside, I’ll do my best to answer them.”
The win for Lampard lifted Coventry to 15th place Championship table – ten points adrift of the play-off places – but the former Chelsea boss did not enjoy the victory. “The longer you do this, and I’m not an absolutely young manager anymore, you’ll realize this is the time when it’s going to happen,” Lampard told reporters.
Plymouth’s struggles are not all down to Rooney. The Pilgrims have been ravaged by injury this season, leaving places in Thursday’s starting XI for a full senior debut for 16-year-old midfielder Tegan Finn. The academy graduate was not alive when Rooney first lined up alongside Lampard in England’s friendly win over Serbia and Montenegro – a nation that no longer exists in its current guise.
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