Macclesfield FC have grown accustomed to being the most famous team with the most famous names in their league. In a previous life, the club listed Sammy McIlroy, Paul Ince and Sol Campbell as former managers. Since their rebirth in 2020, the former Premier League players Neil Danns, Alex Bruce and, most notably, Robbie Savage, have enjoyed spells in the hot seat.
John Rooney’s surname is unlikely to go unnoticed. Yet the younger brother of the England and Manchester United legend Wayne is, by his own admission, a far less glitzy appointment than his predecessor Savage, whose effervescent character came to define Macclesfield in recent years. A self-styled Marmite man, Savage enjoyed unparalleled success in his season-long stint at Macclesfield, winning the Northern Premier League with a mammoth 109 points. His departure to Forest Green this summer left a void, with key players such as Laurent Mendy, Tre Pemberton and Neil Kengni following him to Gloucestershire.
Pictures of Savage still adorn the walls behind Rooney as we chat in the boardroom of the Leasing.com Stadium, days out from Macclesfield’s opening game of the new National League North campaign against Worksop Town. “I’ll be different to Sav,” says Rooney, an attacking midfielder who rejoined Macclesfield as a player in August 2023 following stints at clubs such as New York Red Bulls, Orlando City, Barrow and Oldham before announcing his retirement at the end of last season.
“He has always been out there as a player and a pundit. He likes attention – not in a bad sense. I’ll go under the radar and be my own person. I’d be stupid to act like Sav, because I’m a different person and I’d be being false.”
There’s no doubt Savage’s exit has been seismic, but it took just days for Macclesfield to replace him with Rooney. Plans had already been in place for the 34-year-old to take up a coaching role if a vacancy arose. “It happened so quick with Sav going, so we didn’t have time to sit back and think about it,” Rooney says. “Rob [Smethurst, the club’s owner] told me on the Monday and we were training on the Tuesday.”
Rooney had little hesitation accepting the role and there was even a word of advice from his brother, whose own tumultuous managerial journey in the past few years may provide a lesson for John. “When I got the job, [Wayne] said: ‘Just try and enjoy it.’ Obviously he went into management and did well at some places, not so well at other places. And listen, that’s football. It’s part of management. You’re not going to get your own way all the time.”
“When do these opportunities come up to be a manager of a club like this? Not often,” Rooney adds. “It might not come again. So once I got wind of it, I wanted to take it with both hands. You could be falling out of the game as a player, then you’re scratching around to come back in as a coach. I spoke about it last year with Sav, that if he ever left, would I be interested? I always said I’d want to throw myself right at it.”
Rooney, whose playing days began in the Everton academy like his brother, made his professional debut with Macclesfield in 2008. He’s now a novice manager but with experience by his side to call upon. Macclesfield have just appointed Francis Jeffers, another ex-Everton player, as Rooney’s assistant. “I’ve known Franny for a long time. I played under him as a coach at Oldham. He’s coached at Ipswich, out in Saudi. I wanted someone older than me who would challenge me, not just agree with everything I say. I’d be naive otherwise.” Rooney laughs off the idea of offering a job to a certain other former Everton striker. He’s keen to be his own man.
It’s put to Rooney that he is still registered as a player for the coming season, so could mirror the player-manager role in which Wayne thrived at Derby early in his own managerial career. “Touch wood I’m not needed,” he replies. “It’s been a pretty smooth transition to managing. It’s now my third spell here; two as a player and now as manager. Everyone knows what this club means to me. I started here, they gave me my chance in professional football and I’ll never forget that.”
Rooney takes the reins at an intriguing stage in the Silkmen’s journey. They have blazed a trail through the divisions, with three promotions in four years, and now face their most challenging task in the National League North. “It’s going to be a lot tougher than last year,” accepts Rooney, with a nod to the fellow phoenix clubs Hereford, Chester and Darlington who are on this season’s fixture list. “Come December, January, away from home, the pitches won’t be great, it’s about being adaptable.
“Last year we got on that winning streak and winning is a habit. We need to roll that on to this season. There are some big teams in this league, five or six clubs that are full time and that’s our goal as well, we want to get to the full-time stage.”
Will Macclesfield hit a glass ceiling at some point soon? Rooney will not countenance the idea. “We want to finish as high as possible. Our plan is to carry on.”
