“Give the guy” – Pundit sends Wayne Rooney message to Plymouth Argyle after Morgan Whittaker blow | OneFootball

FLW pundit Carlton Palmer gives his thoughts on Wayne Rooney’s future with the Pilgrims after Morgan Whittaker is ruled out until the end of January.

Pundit Carlton Palmer believes Wayne Rooney can turn Plymouth Argyle’s fortunes around, despite star forward Morgan Whittaker being ruled out until the end of January.

In a devastating blow to Rooney and the Pilgrims, the 23-year-old is set to miss the rest of the year after hobbling off with a foot problem in last month’s 2-2 draw with Luton Town.

Whittaker has been such a key cog in the Plymouth side since his arrival from Swansea City, back in 2023, netting 22 times from 61 second-tier appearances at Home Park.

With Whittaker joining the injury table alongside playmaker Ibrahim Cissoko, further questions have been raised about whether Rooney can turn the club around without two of his most creative and influential assets, amid speculation about his future growing throughout this week.

Heading into the clash against the U’s, Plymouth sit narrowly above the relegation trap door, two points clear of 22nd-placed Hull City, and will be in desperate need of victory to arrest the slide they currently face.

Carlton Palmer on Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle future after Morgan Whittaker blow

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer has called on Plymouth to back Rooney in the January transfer window to ease the impact of Whittaker’s absence.

Palmer said: “Bad news for Plymouth Argyle and Wayne Rooney with Morgan Whittaker ruled out until the end of January.

“The rumours will start again about whether this is the final nail in the coffin for Rooney but as I’ve said previously, Wayne’s objective is to keep Plymouth in the Championship and if he does that then he will have done a fantastic job.

“Obviously Whittaker has scored a lot of goals and scored the goals to keep them in the division last season but Wayne has already been in the market to bring in another striker, so surely the hierarchy must realise that it doesn’t matter whether Wayne Rooney is in charge of the football club or not, that they need to bring a striker in who will score goals, given Whittaker is going to be out for a while.”

Palmer added: “The chairman has come out and is standing firm with Rooney, and so he should be, given they are still two points clear of QPR and Hull City from the bottom three.

“If Rooney could get two victories then they’d be up the table but the problem has been the way they lose games and Wayne has to address that.

“The pressure is on but Wayne’s had that throughout his career and I don’t see this news being the final nail in the coffin for him.

“The owners need to stand firm with a big game coming up against Oxford United on the weekend and I fully expect them to go on and get all three points at home, and then everyone will be asking whether this is the turning point for Rooney.

“Give the guy a little bit of a break and see where he is come January.”

Wayne Rooney must get results quickly to secure Plymouth Argyle future

Despite being recently backed by chairman Simon Hallett, the emerging news about Whittaker will be a hammer blow to in a bid to steer Plymouth away from immediate relegation danger.

Whittaker has been such a menace over the last couple of seasons on the right flank in green and Plymouth will have to find another way of finding the back of the net on a consistent basis.

The Pilgrims’ league position might get worse before it gets better with no transfer business occurring until January, and with so many games coming thick and fast over the winter schedule, you do fear that this news has come at the worst possible time in Rooney’s tenure at the club.

However, Plymouth will be relieved to return to Home Park for their next two fixtures against Oxford and Swansea City, with it imperative Rooney sees victories in both for him to make it to the January window and be able to strengthen the side.