Wayne Rooney reveals uncomfortable moment with Birmingham security guard after controversial decision
Wayne Rooney has revealed a Birmingham security guard didn't recognise him
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Wayne Rooney had an uncomfortable moment after arriving at Birmingham's training ground after a security guard failed to recognise him.
The former England and Manchester United captain has replaced John Eustace at St Andrew's and is eager to make his mark.
The Blues' decision to hire Rooney is a controversial one, especially with Eustace steering the club to sixth in the Championship table.
They do, however, hope the risk pays off.
Wayne Rooney has been hired as Birmingham manager
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And Rooney has now revealed an awkward moment with a Birmingham security guard after the officer asked him who he was.
"I don’t think he knew who it was!" he joked.
Rooney had arrived at 7am in order to get started, with the 37-year-old eager to make his mark.
He's keen to set high standards during his spell at St Andrew's and has struggled to sleep since jetting back into England from America.
“I couldn’t sleep! But I think it’s important as a manager, you set examples to the staff," he said.
“You want to be in, you want to be there, ready. There’s a lot of preparation as well that goes into the job.
“That’s part of the role and that's something I’ve always done – get in early and make sure preparations are right.”
In another world, though, Rooney would be managing out in Saudi Arabia.
Ex-Premier League bosses such as Steven Gerrard, Nuno Espirito Santo and Slaven Bilic currently lead teams out in the Middle East.
The Saudis spent big back in the summer on both players and managers in order to improve their league.
Rooney has revealed he was offered the chance to join them out there by an unnamed club.
He declined, however, and is keen to forge a reputation for himself in English football instead.
“This is no disrespect to any of the managers who have gone out there by the way," he stated.
“But for me, I felt my development, my pathway was a different way.
“For myself firstly to get back into English football is great. It’s what I’ve wanted to do.
“I’ve had opportunities over the last four to six weeks at other clubs as well to do that.
“But I think since speaking to Birmingham and seeing the ambitions of the club, where they want to go, where they want to get to, it excited me.
“I want to be successful. It’s clear this club wants to be successful and everything we spoke about really was very similar.
“It’s an exciting time and I’m delighted to be a part of it.
“I’m sure I will have a few sleepless nights. That’s part of the job. That’s probably why I’ve aged about ten years in the past two years.”
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Wayne Rooney will be reunited with Michael Carrick when Birmingham lock horns with Middlesbrough
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Rooney's first match as Birmingham boss will be against Middlesbrough a week on Saturday.
And that means he'll be reunited with former United team-mate Michael Carrick.
The duo won five Premier League titles, as well as the Champions League in 2008, while playing at Old Trafford.