Plymouth Argyle confirmed on New Year’s Eve the departure of manager Wayne Rooney after a 2-0 defeat at Oxford United left them bottom of the Championship at the start of 2025.
Rooney has departed the Devon club after picking up 0.9 points-per-game and a 21% win rate in the 23 matches he took charge of since his appointment at the start of the 2024-25 season. With the January transfer window opening today, the Pilgrims will most likely want to get a new manager in quickly to allow them to add the players they want to the squad for the relegation battle ahead. Here are five managers who Plymouth could look at to replace Rooney.
Steven Schumacher – unattached
A manager well known to the Plymouth fan-base. Schumacher was the manager who guided Argyle to the League One title during the 2022-23 season before leaving to join Championship rivals Stoke City in December 2023.
The 40 year old was dismissed five games into the current campaign and has been out of a job since. During his time in Devon, Schumacher had a 52.78% win rate from his 108 games in charge. This may be the best appointment for Argyle given his record at the club previously and his relationship with the club’s hierarchy.
The former Stoke head coach is likely to be looking for a managerial role in the Championship and a move to his former club may be the best fit for him. Schumacher will have to hope that the Argyle faithful don’t hold any grudges against him after his departure to Stoke as they will need everyone singing from the same hymn sheet in order to retain their Championship status.
Russell Martin – unattached
Another manager recently sacked that could suit Plymouth’s style is Russell Martin. The former Premier League defender was dismissed as manager of Southampton two weeks ago.
The 38 year old has had managerial roles at Milton Keynes Dons and Swansea City before being appointed manager of the Saints ahead of the 2023-24 season. Martin oversaw an impressive campaign that resulted in promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs last season.
The former Southampton manager is wedded to a possession heavy style of play with his teams dominating the ball and pressing the opposition. Last season, his promotion winning side had an average possession of 66% across the season.
This is a similar brand of football that Rooney attempted to implement this season with the goalkeeper initiating attacks by playing out from the back. So far this season, Argyle are ranked 16th for average possession with 48.6% and it may be that they need a manager who has achieved promotion through possession based methods to get it working. The main question would be whether Martin would be willing to take the step down to take the Home Park hotseat given the promotion winning campaign on his CV and recent spell in the Premier League.
Richie Wellens – Leyton Orient
One manager whose stock is increasing is Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens and he may be a name that the Plymouth hierarchy look to as a long term appointment. The former midfielder hung up his playing boots in 2017 before managing Oldham Athletic, Swindon Town, Salford City, Doncaster Rovers and currently Leyton Orient.
The 44 year old has won the League Two title twice in his managerial career and has established his Leyton Orient side as a competitive one within the third tier. Wellens is known for his high intensity football with an emphasis on playing out from the back and a preferred formation of 4-2-3-1.
So far this season, his Orient side sit in tenth with 31 points from 22 games and have one of the best defences in the division, ranking fourth for goals conceded per match (0.9 goals) and the second most clean sheets (11). These defensive statistics would provide Plymouth with a platform to pick up wins given the Devon side have the worst defensive record in the Championship with an average of 2.2 goals conceded per match.
Wellens will argue that he deserves a chance to manage at a higher level but again, the appointment could provide short-term risk for Plymouth’s second tier status given that Wellens has not managed at the level previously.
Leighton Baines – Everton Under 18s/Everton Academy Professional Development Coach
If Plymouth look to go down the route of hiring a coach from an academy set up then Leighton Baines might be a good option for the club. Having played in the Premier League for Everton for 13 years, Baines took his first managerial step with the Toffees and has been in the youth set up for over two years.
The 40 year old has worked under and with a number of managers during his playing and management career at the Merseyside club so would bring a wealth of knowledge to the role at Plymouth. Baines is known as a very personable coach who looks to develop the young players he works with and supported Everton players who went out on loan from the club such as Ellis Simms and Anthony Gordon.
Baines may be an appointment that would be useful for the Pilgrims ahead of the transfer window given the former defender’s link to Everton and their youth team. Despite the potential that Baines may have as a first-team manager, his appointment would be a risk given his lack of first-team management on his CV and experience of fighting a relegation battle.
Steve Cooper – unattached
When Schumacher left Plymouth last December, the club turned to an England youth manager in Ian Foster and they could do the same with Cooper given his CV. Cooper started his managerial career with the England under 16s and 17s before his first taste of men’s football came at Swansea City.
Following his two year spell in South Wales, the 45 year old won promotion to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest before his five month stint at Leicester City came to an end in November. Cooper has flexibility with his prefered formation having played 4-2-3-1, 5-3-2 and 3-5-2 formations during his managerial career which would be useful to deploy at a side in Plymouth’s predicament.
Cooper has previously emphasised his style of play during his success as England under 17 manager:
“We want to play with purpose, dominate possession, play forward and get the ball back as quick as we can”.
The 45 year old manager is on the wishlist of a number of clubs when they are looking to fill a vacancy. The issue for the Devon club will be, similar to that of Martin, whether Cooper would be willing to take a job fighting relegation to the third tier given his previous two years in management have been in the top flight.