Rooney's ex-Man Utd teammate set for Plymouth job after icon's disastrous spell
Tom Cleverley is poised to become the next Plymouth boss after emerging as the best candidate with Wayne Rooney's former Manchester United team-mate looking to lead them back to the Championship
Tom Cleverley is set to become the next Plymouth boss after holding productive talks with the club's bosses as they look to bounce back from their Championship relegation. The former Manchester United star is expected to succeed Miron Muslic, who masterminded the FA Cup win over Liverpool but left for Schalke last month.
Cleverley meanwhile is out of a job having been sacked by Watford last month. He had led the Hornets to a 14th-place finish in the second tier in his first full season.
Plymouth had spoken to four candidates about their vacancy with Cleverley emerging as the frontrunner. Former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere, who had been caretaker boss at Norwich, was also interviewed but looks set to miss out according to the Guardian.
Plymouth's managerial search has been led by David Fox, their former player who was recently appointed head of football operations, and the former Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber.
The Pilgrims knew their relegation was all but confirmed ahead of the final day with a hugely inferior goal difference meaning they were ultimately down. They were beaten by Leeds at Home Park which bought an end to their two-year stay in the Championship.
Their demise began with Wayne Rooney at the helm. Cleverley's former team-mate at Old Trafford was handed another managerial gig in the Championship but struggled for results. He won five of his 25 games before he was shown the door just after Christmas.
He left Plymouth sitting in the relegation zone and, despite an upturn in form that saw them down the likes of Sheffield United, they couldn't save themselves and will hope to bounce back at the first time of asking. They are among the pre-season favourites for promotion.
Rooney has said on his stint: "I loved my time there - I think the fans were great, the staff were great. We just hit a bad run of form and the players actually you know I can't fault them, they were trying everything. Maybe we just lacked that bit of quality."
Rooney's successor, Muslic, appeared to take a swipe at the Evertonian and claimed that the club would never have gone down had he been in charge all season. "I think if I'm the head coach from day one we will be far, far away from the relegation zone," he said previously.
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