AliousWayne Rooney, former England and Premier League star, recently confessed on Gary Neville’s The Overlap that he disliked pre-season training during his playing career.
Despite now being responsible for players’ pre-season preparations as Plymouth’s manager, Rooney admitted to often avoiding hard work when he was a player.
He shocked Ian Wright by revealing he never trained before returning to the club after summer breaks.
Rooney would return to pre-season 6-7 pounds overweight, knowing he needed to work hard to get fit.
He described using tricks like sitting in a steam room fully clothed the night before weigh-ins and not eating or drinking to make weight.
He also confessed to deliberately underperforming in fitness tests like the bleep test, dropping out early to avoid having to improve his performance in subsequent tests.
Rooney recalled David Moyes’ tough pre-seasons at Everton, particularly struggling with the heat in Austria during his first pre-season tour at 16.
He humorously described making a bandanna from a bed sheet to protect his sunburned head.
Even in the MLS, Rooney found pre-season challenging, struggling with the heat and intense training in Los Angeles.
However, he did enjoy the opportunity to nap in the afternoons during this time.
Despite these pre-season struggles, Rooney went on to become England’s highest goalscorer (since surpassed by Harry Kane) and Manchester United’s all-time top scorer.
Rooney’s first season as Plymouth manager begins this Sunday with an away match against Sheffield Wednesday.
Alious
