"I messed up" - Wayne Rooney reveals mistake he made in Plymouth Argyle's shock 4-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

The Pilgrims were heavily beaten on the opening day of the season, but have improved greatly since.

Plymouth Argyle supporters must have been fearing the worst after their opening day defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

Wayne Rooney's side were beaten 4-0 at Hillsborough in his first game in charge of the Pilgrims, leaving them bottom of the table after matchweek one.

However, two months later, Plymouth have risen to 14th in the Championship, amassing 11 points from their first nine matches.

Their first win was perhaps the most surprising result of the season so far, as Rooney's team ruined Sunderland's unbeaten start to the campaign, in a 3-2 victory at Home Park.

Blackburn Rovers and Luton Town have also now fallen victim to the Devonshire-based side, who have picked up nearly all of their points between the last international break and this one. Nevertheless, fans will still look back at that loss against Sheffield Wednesday and how far they have come in the matter of weeks.

Rooney unpicks aftermath of Sheffield Wednesday defeat

While those Owls supporters inside Hillsborough on that day were bouncing and celebrating, Rooney had to try and work out where he had gone wrong and how he was going to fix it quickly.

Plymouth were forced to lick their wounds, with games coming thick and fast early on in the Championship season. Speaking on The Overlap with Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Jill Scott and Roy Keane, the Pilgrims manager explained his immediate thoughts following the full-time whistle.

He said: "Initially I was calm and told them how I felt, telling them it was not good enough.

"You can lose games, that’s going to happen, but the way we lost the game, we didn’t have energy, we didn't put in enough tackles, and we weren’t aggressive enough. I told them that I was not accepting that.

"But I messed up in that as I played too many of the new players. For the new signings that I brought in from Europe, you’re playing at Hillsborough, there’s a big atmosphere as it’s the first game of the season."

Rooney continued: "So a few days later, we had another team meeting. I said to the players that I think with my team selection I should have added the new ones in more gradually.

"In pre-season, we had done okay, so then you’re going into it thinking we’re okay. I said as well that it was my responsibility, but that was a hard day."

Rooney seems to have learned from his mistakes

Although they have recovered excellently, the opening weeks of the season were extremely tough for Rooney and his Plymouth team as they looked to recover from the dismantling at Hillsborough.

The former Derby County boss seems to have learned from the mistakes that he made on that Sunday afternoon, with his team selections now a lot more stable, trusting players that have been at the club for a while, but also bringing in new stars cautiously.

Attacking-wise, the Pilgrims are extremely well-equipped with the likes of Morgan Whittaker and Michael Obafemi able to provide the goals to steer the team clear of any relegation danger.

There will be tough times ahead, but if Rooney and his players can make Home Park a fortress, then there will be no doubt that they can keep their heads above the parapet and stave off the threat of relegation to League One.