Argyle supporters must get used to 9.5 living in Wayne's World

THE explosion of media interest in Plymouth Argyle since the appointment of Wayne Rooney as their new head coach is just a sign of things to come.

Even as a newly-promoted Championship club last season, the Pilgrims largely went under the radar outside of Devon and Cornwall as the EFL’s most south-westerly outpost. That is all about to change now due to the high profile of their new 38-year-old boss.

One of England’s greatest-ever players, and it is no exaggeration at all to say that, will inevitably come under an intense spotlight, whether Argyle are playing at Home Park or around the country.

He will be used to that, of course, after all the attention he has received since breaking into the first team at Everton when he was aged 16, but it will be a new experience for Argyle after spending most of the last 20 years in either League One or League Two.

Whether the Green Army like it or not (almost certainly the latter) their team will from now on be known on a national level as ‘Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth’. Some informed observers may add ‘Argyle’ to that.

That very point was made to Simon Hallett, the club’s owner and chairman, during an interview with Argyle TV last week. He stated there was a subtle yet important difference and that it was actually ‘Wayne Rooney at Plymouth Argyle’.

However, such is the media circus which is likely to continue follow Rooney that Manchester United's record goalscorer will often be the focus of any story involving the club. We can expect to hear all the time from pundits some good, some not so good - on a wide variety of platforms on how they believe the Pilgrims' head coach is getting on and giving their probably strident opinions on him.

Hopefully, Rooney will get the chance to enjoy the sights and sounds of living and working in and around the south-west. Plymouth has so much to offer, with lots of good places to relax and enjoy good food or the summer weather.