Ex-Plymouth boss Rooney dug out over what was seen at old club's training ground

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Tom Brady delivered a scathing verdict on former Plymouth Argyle boss Wayne Rooney during his disastrous Birmingham City spell.

The Manchester United legend was brought in following a takeover by a consortium led by Tom Wagner, which included NFL legend Brady as a minority owner.

However, Rooney found himself out of work by January 2024 after overseeing just 15 matches, with Birmingham plummeting down the Championship standings before suffering relegation to League One.

As Birmingham stormed to immediate promotion back to the Championship, Rooney left the Pilgrims by mutual consent at the end of last year after just four league wins.

An upcoming documentary titled 'Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues' will premiere on Prime Video this Friday.

Beyond exploring the burgeoning rivalry with fellow promotion contenders Wrexham last season, the series exposes behind-the-scenes footage from Blues' relegation, including the ownership group's doubts over Rooney's stewardship.

"I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic," Brady can be heard telling business manager Ben Rawitz after visiting the training ground, in what would be considered the ultimate swipe for someone of Rooney's calibre in the sport. Rawitz responds by say the manager "comes across as lackadaisical."

The documentary also captures Brady giving Rooney some advice. He says: "What's the difference between [American football] and soccer? Nothing. I treated practice like it was the Super Bowl. Put pressure on them, make them run for everything.".

When Rooney took the reins at Birmingham in October 2023, they were riding high in the Championship.

Yet by January, when he was shown the door, the team had taken a nosedive to 20th and were staring down the barrel of relegation, which was confirmed on the final day.

On Rooney's appointment, Brady said: "I had good advice, 'Don't go in there and make sweeping changes. You guys have time.' But we made sweeping changes that put us in decline. That was our doing."

Rooney didn't have to wait long for another opportunity in Championship management.

He landed the Pilgrims job last summer, but he only lasted half a season in charge. Rooney was replaced by Miron Musclic, who couldn't keep the Pilgrims in the second tier.