da casino： Wayne Rooney has delivered an “okay” verdict of his spell as a BBC pundit at Euro 2024, with the Manchester United legend snubbed for England duty.
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Three Lions hero retired in 2021Joined fellow stars for Euros in GermanyReturning to UK for coaching roleWHAT HAPPENED?
Despite sitting second behind Harry Kane on the Three Lions’ all-time leading goalscorer chart, and with 120 caps to his name, Rooney was overlooked in favour of Rio Ferdinand, Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Frank and Micah Richards when Gary Lineker fronted coverage of England’s group stage games against Serbia and Denmark.
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Rooney’s final outing in the punditry chair came in Belgium’s goalless draw with Ukraine, with the 38-year-old telling the podcast of a stint in Germany that gave him limited opportunities to discuss England: “Yeah, it's been okay. Obviously, it's different and new to what I've been used to. I've done TV in the past but [I've] spent quite a bit of time here, so yeah it's been a bit different but I've enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I haven't had any of the England games to talk about really and the games I've done haven't been the greatest but it's nice to spend some time here.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Rooney is now returning to the UK ahead of taking on a new managerial challenge at Championship side Plymouth. He added on getting more media work in prior to inheriting the reins at Home Park – with England still searching for a spark in their latest bid for European Championship glory: “Obviously a lot of the tournaments over the last 20 years I've been involved in as a player and now being on the other side and seeing the perspective from a pundits point of view. We've seen the back and forward between the England camp and the pundits, so it's a bit strange. But I think everything that's been said has been right really and the players and the manager have come out and all said the same things. So it's a bit strange. You always want to try and be careful but also want to be truthful with the words you give.”
GettyWHAT NEXT?
Plymouth will report back for pre-season training in early July, with Rooney’s first game at the helm set to be a friendly date with Orlando Pirates on the 12th of that month. Their summer schedule will also include meetings with Cheltenham, Torquay United, Bristol Rovers and MK Dons before getting the 2024-25 campaign underway at Sheffield Wednesday on August 11.