Former Birmingham City boss 'fighting' to avoid the sack after just six months

Former Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney is already at a critical point of his Plymouth Argyle career already, with reports that he is fighting to save his job.

According to John Percy, a journalist for the Telegraph, the next two games against Oxford United and Swansea City have been regarded as 'crucial'. There's an acceptance that the Pilgrims are dealing with an injury crisis, but there fears mounting on the backdrop of recent results.

Newly promoted Oxford United find themselves in 17th, and only a point above Plymouth after drawing with Millwall. Swansea City are just below mid-table after a 2-2 draw with bottom side Portsmouth at the weekend.

Plymouth find themselves 21st in the Championship following a heavy defeat to Bristol City on Saturday which came after losing 6-1 to Norwich City in midweek. The Guardian are reporting that Rooney isn't at an immediate risk of losing his job, but a defeat to the U's this coming Saturday would 'further jeopardise' his position at Home Park.

The Manchester United legend finds himself in a similar position as to where he was last year with Blues. Rooney took over from John Eustace in October, but his side slid down the table, and dropped to 20th.

Like at Birmingham, he has struggled to win away from home, with his only success on the road last year being a 1-0 win against Cardiff City. Rooney has managed to last longer than he did at St Andrew's, and has more points than he did during his tenure at Birmingham.

Plymouth is Rooney's fourth job of his managerial career after beginning in November. He took over at Derby County, and managed them for two seasons, but couldn't prevent them from being relegated to League One following a 21-point deduction.

He headed to DC United shortly after his departure from Pride Park, and managed them for over a year, but couldn't guide them in to the playoffs. Rooney last 85 days at Birmingham, winning just once before he was replaced by Tony Mowbray.

"As I've said before, I don't think the fans ever accepted me from day one,” said Rooney on BBC Sport in February when he was asked to reflect on his short stint at Birmingham.

“I was just disappointed I didn't get to the transfer window.

"Because myself, the owners, everyone at the club knew we had to bring players in, and to not have the opportunity to do that, that was my only disappointment."