New Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney has outlined his expectations ahead of his first game as manager of the Blues as he comes up against his old teammate and head coach of Middlesbrough Michael Carrick.
In his first pre-match press conference, aired on the Birmingham club website, Rooney stated that he wants his team to be ‘exciting’. He also alluded what he will demand of his players as he prepares them for his first test as manager away at The Riverside.
He said, “My teams, I always want them to be intense, front-footed, try to win the ball back high, but not crazy, not a stupid press, a more calculated press, when we press, we press as a team and we’re aggressive.
“Then obviously with the ball, we want to try and keep the ball and try to make it difficult for opponents to play against us.”
The new Birmingham boss was a fully-committed player who occasionally saw that passion spill over, so seeing what he will expect from his troops will probably be of little surprise as he explained his ‘non-negotiables’.
“Ultimately the basics of the game, which have to be there, hard work, tackling, running, they are all fundamentals and non-negotiables with the players which i have.
“On top of that, is the quality and I want players to play with freedom, especially the attacking players, they need to go and express themselves and be exciting, that’s what fans want to see, it’s what i want to see and hopefully that will help us.”
An entertaining game ahead
Michael Carrick will be fully aware of what to expect from a Wayne Rooney side, having played with him for over ten years at Man Utd. Carrick alluded to the fact that they are often in contact such is their relationship and his former teammate and England striker even offered him advice on one of Boro’s summer loan signings Lewis O’Brien, having managed the Forest midfielder in his capacity as DC United manager.
Rooney did find time to make clear the respect and admiration he has for Carrick ahead of the encounter, saying, “Obviously, Michael is a great friend of mine, to come up against him will feel a bit strange, but we are both professional, as I said, good friends, but come that 90 minutes we will both want to beat each other. I’m trying to win for Birmingham, he’s trying to win for Middlesbrough, I’m sure it’ll make for a good game, of course we’ll shake hands and have a chat after the game.”
The way in which Boro protect the ball and play attractive, flowing football against the likelihood of an intense, high-tempo approach from Birmingham, could make for a very entertaining afternoon.