Perhaps unsurprisingly, Wayne Rooney won’t be returning to management in the sixth tier of English football.
The out of work Manchester legend United received an audacious approach from National League North side Macclesfield, but turned it down according to PA.
Rooney has been out of work since December when he was sacked as Plymouth manager with a dismal record of five wins and 14 defeats in 25 games.
It was his third shot at the Championship after stints at Birmingham and Derby who, like Plymouth, were relegated after he was dismissed.
Despite his struggles in the second tier, the 39-year-old England icon has regularly expressed his desire to return to the dugout, although dropping down four leagues was always unlikely.
However, PA add that he did consider Macclesfield FC’s approach which came through his agent Paul Stretford.
That’s because the phoenix club are quickly on the rise following the liquidation of their Macclesfield Town predecessor in September 2020.
The original side were victims of poor management and the COVID-19 pandemic and Robert Smethurst purchased their remaining assets and Moss Rose stadium a month later.
Returning to action for the 2021/22 season they achieved instant promotion from the NWCFL Premier Division and then instantly followed it up with another jump up to the NPL Division One West.
After a freshman season in the NPL Premier Division, Robbie Savage, who was initially appointed as a board member in 2020, took over as head coach.
He recorded a massive 109 points as Macclesfield secured their promotion to the sixth tier.
Such a performance has seen former Premier League regular Savage enter talks with fifth tier Forest Green Rovers, which explains the club’s approach for Rooney.
While Rooney has struggled in the dugout, he’s still a fan favourite and has proved to be an insightful commentator on the game through his various punditry roles.
talkSPORT asked him about his next step just weeks ago and he hinted it wasn’t coaching.
“Obviously just doing some TV work at the minute, so that’s what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m enjoying it. So, that’s where I’ll be.”
Plymouth were criticised for their hire of Rooney last season after his Birmingham failure, but their CEO Andrew Parkinson has since defended the choice.
“He was the best candidate we saw when it got down to the interviews,” he said.
“The biggest thing for him is that he really wanted it.
“There’s lots of other things that play into that. We went down from a long list of 30 and the process isn’t a straightforward one.
“People might be at existing clubs and might not want to come, they may have contracts where it will be expensive to get them out of it. Sometimes it is more difficult to get people to come down to Plymouth, let’s face it.
“When we got down to our final candidates, he absolutely wanted to prove himself, wanted to show he could do the job.
“He’d had a couple of difficult experiences at other clubs, but at the time we felt he was the best candidate.
