Wayne Rooney plans managerial return after Plymouth disaster - but could end up on the BBC instead

The 39-year-old former Manchester United and Everton star left his latest role as Plymouth boss on December 31 with the club lying at the foot of the Sky Bet Championship table after a run of nine games without a win.

Rooney’s managerial career had previously encompassed challenging spells at Derby, DC United and Birmingham, and he said he will bide his time as he looks for his next opportunity.

The former England skipper told the Stick to Football podcast: “I would like to go back in, but it would have to be the right club. You always have that ego and that confidence that you can go in and get the best out of a difficult situation. It never happened that way.

“But I am going to enjoy time [away from management] with my family. I’ve been skiing with [wife] Coleen – I loved it. I’m not in a massive rush to go back in – there’s different things that I’m looking at to try and get involved with – unless something was absolutely the right thing to do.

“Every club I’ve been at, I’ve put myself in a really challenging situation. Sometimes you have got different ideas which you’re trying to put across to the players, and maybe there’s a bit of arrogance where you’re thinking, ‘This is the right way’. Having better players helps.”

But according to the Sun, Rooney could find himself away from the dugout and on our TV screens instead.

The national tabloid has reported that the former England international could take a job as a rotating pundit on BBC’s Match of the Day. They claimed that he is even being offered an eye-watering £200,000 a year salary for the role.

He was meant to make his debut on the show in April last year, but withdrew due to a back injury.

His time at Plymouth Argyle was his third stint in the Championship, after spells at Derby County and Birmingham City.