24 January 2023 , 19:59
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Wayne Rooney has been backed to become a successful Premier League boss by Phil Jagielka, who reckons crisis-club Everton should consider him.
Former Toffees defender Jagielka admits he hates to see his old club languishing in the drop zone. A run of eight Premier League games without a win cost Frank Lampard his job and left Everton looking for a seventh permanent manager since the start of the 2016/17 season.
Rooney is among the contenders tipped for the Goodison Park vacancy, along with Marcelo Bielsa, Sean Dyche and Duncan Ferguson. Jagielka played alongside Rooney at Everton and then went on to play under him in his first managerial job at Derby last term in the Championship.
Jagielka, 40, assessed: " Wayne Rooney was quite single minded and fired up as a player – that's the way he played his game. As a manager, he was a bit more relaxed. He gets his points across in quite a cool and calm manner, but you could see his love for the game, both in being a manager and as a player.
"As a manager, you understand that you can't go around ridiculously fired-up and aggressive all the time. There's time for everything and he will manage in the Premier League one day, and he'll be successful."
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As a boss, Rooney, 37, was unable to keep Derby in the second tier last term, when he had to contend with points deductions and player sales.
Would you like to see Wayne Rooney return to Everton as manager? Have your say in the comments!
Wayne Rooney has plenty of history with Everton and has already started to cut his teeth in management (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)But he made a promising start to management with 24 wins from 85 despite the Rams being engulfed in off-the-field problems. He then took charge last summer at DC United, where he is preparing for the new Major League Soccer season.
But Jagielka reckons Rooney could be tempted to return to Everton, where he starred as a teenager from 2002-2004 before a huge £20million move to Manchester United.
Jagielka, speaking to Sky Bet, added: "Wayne Rooney knows enough about Everton to do his best, only time will tell. It's not an easy fix.
"Wayne's been in a troubled Derby County set-up as part of his managerial career, so he's got a little bit of an understanding there, but it's the Premier League. It's the hardest division in the world in my eyes, so I'm sure he'd have a good go."
Jagielka admits he is worried Everton could drop out of the Premier League for the first time. He said: "Relegation has got to be a genuine possibility for Everton.
"With the number of games that's gone and where they are in the league, they’ll be fully aware that they are massively in that battle. It’s something that I’ve never wanted to see and they need to start picking up points very soon because if teams put a run together, they could be caught adrift."