A defender who was at Plymouth Argyle under Wayne Rooney has shone a light on his true nature. The Manchester United legend has come under fire from his successor Milon Muslic this week as the Pilgrims are facing the prospect of relegation from the Championship.
The former England striker took the reins at Argyle last May, but had a tough spell in charge, lasting just 23 games. Rooney was relieved of his duties on New Year’s Eve after registering only four wins in the league and suffering 13 defeats.
Bosnian-born Austrian coach Muslic was chosen to replace him in January and has won eight and drawn five of his 22 matches at the helm. Despite his efforts, Argyle sit rock bottom of the second tier, three points off safety, with two games left to play.
And Muslic believes their problems could have been avoided entirely if he was appointed earlier. “I think if I’m the head coach from day one we will be far, far away from the relegation zone, we will be safe five games ago,” he said after his side’s 3-1 victory over Coventry City on Monday.
However, while you could be forgiven for thinking this would make Rooney unpopular with the Argyle team, that appears to be far from the case. One former player who has spoken favourably about the 39-year-old is defender Dan Scarr.
Scarr only spent a few months with Rooney before being sold to League One high flyers Wrexham for an undisclosed fee last August. But he was full of praise for his down to earth nature after commending how he handled his departure.
“He was unbelievable and I really can’t speak more highly of him,” Scarr told The Leader. “He came in earlier this year and he’s so down to earth and gave me all his support.
“He knew I was interested in a move to Wrexham and he told me that he was never going to stand in my way even though he wanted me to stay. There was no nastiness whatsoever and that made things much easier.”
The 30-year-old isn’t alone in his thoughts on Rooney either, with Plymouth midfielder Adam Randell also giving glowing feedback on his manager earlier in the season.
“There are times I will find myself saying ‘Oh my God!’ when he does something in training,” Randell told the Mail. “It’s all surreal. I never thought that he would come down here but now he is here, I want to learn as much as I can from him.
“There are times he will drop a name or tell a story from his career and you realise the level he was at. He’s so into the tactical side of things and he is more than happy to have a conversation with you. He’s so approachable.”
Meanwhile, Scarr’s respect for Rooney appears to have been mutual. Speaking about the defender at the time of his departure from Argyle, Rooney said: “For Dan it was a good opportunity for him, for his family as well. We had a good chat about it and I think sometimes the time is right for both parties.
“I think he’s been a really good servant to the club, but the time was right for him and maybe for the club as well, and now it’s an opportunity for us to bring someone else in.”
Scarr was a popular figure at Argyle, making more than 100 appearances during his three years with the club. He was part of the Pilgrims team that won the League One title in 2023.
He was widely expected to be a regular for Wrexham this season, but has found game time hard to come by, making just ten starts in the league. However, an injury to first choice centre back Eoghan O’Connell saw him selected to play in the Red Dragons’ 2-1 win away at Blackpool on Monday.
The result saw Wrexham, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, jump back up to second in the table. Scarr received plaudits for his performance from manager Phil Parkinson as the Welsh side moved closer to an astonishing third successive promotion.
Speaking ahead of his team’s crucial clash against Charlton on Saturday, Parkinson said: “We’ve got to make sure the standard of training is high, because look at Dan Scarr. He hasn’t played for a long time…but he came in and played brilliantly against Blackpool.”
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