Rooney Wants To Repeat The Title Trick In County Colours

Stockport County saw what they wanted early this summer, and weren’t keen on hanging around.

As signings go, how about the captain of the champions you hope to emulate, and one who scored no fewer than 17 goals from midfield in a season which lasted little over six months?

Oh, and he was also the obvious National League Player of the Season. It wasn’t really a question.

When they sensed the Barrow talisman was potentially up for grabs despite his best season in half a century, the County cheque writers smelt blood.

They got their teeth into the 29-year-old and weren’t about to let him escape from their jaws.

There are always critics ready to feast when it comes to such transfers.

Some say it was money motivated, sacrificing his EFL chance for a wage hike. Rooney, though, says that’s not even half the story.

“When I spoke to Barrow about staying, I didn’t know what was going on with the managerial situation,” he explained to the National League’s Oliver Osborn.

“That was a big factor for me. I loved playing under Ian Evatt. Fair play to him, he has gone on to play take over at a massive club in Bolton and he will do well there.

“I’m not sure what would have happened if he had stayed, but I had to do what was best for me and my family.

“Stockport have put out there what their ambition was from the end of last season. You want to be involved with a club like that.

“It’s only a short career. You have to weigh things up, but hearing where they want to go excited me. There won’t be many training grounds in League One as good as what we have at Carrington.

“You have to look at every aspect and I believe I made the right decision.”

Every club is ambitious of course, but County have put their money where their mouth is.

Owner Mark Stott is at the helm, a lifelong fan who says he wants to achieve “great things” during his time in charge.

And not just the team, the community also.

Handing over £75,000 to the area’s NHS to help deal with the coronavirus outbreak shows not only there is substance to how he speaks, but that it’s about what happens outside the stadium as well as inside.

But this doesn’t seem to be a slow burner. Rooney is crystal clear about what County want to achieve.

He told us in our latest summer feature: “Lifting the trophy last year gave me confidence. That’s our aim and that’s what we want to achieve.

“It’s a hard league, with only one team going up automatically it’s very difficult to get out of. It’s something we have set our sights on, and we’re determined to get there.

“Everybody knows what our aim is, that’s promotion. It doesn’t matter how we get it. That’s why I have come here, I did it last season and I want some more of it.

“When I spoke to Stockport, they told me where they want to be in the next few years - and that’s something I really want to be a part of.

“We have made some great signings. It was a hard decision because of what we achieved at Barrow, but this is a massive club. We need to try and get them back in the Football League.

“Even when Stockport were in the National League North you look at the crowds the club was getting, it was ridiculous. This is a big club.”

Rooney isn’t the only excellent piece of business manager Jim Gannon has done.

In a season which won’t be like any other, the bookies have them down as one of the title favourites with a few weeks left until the big kick-off.

“Games are coming thick and fast this season, we know that and we’ve got to be prepared for it,” added Rooney, who says he can’t wait for the first game of the season on October 3 at Torquay United.

“You need to look after your body, and above everything else you need to be consistent.

“All the players the club have signed have impressed me. The Jennings brothers are good players, Alex Reid is sharp and Jordan Williams too. We’ve got a really good balance in the team.

“It’s been a long time since we have played for three points. Pre-season games you’ve got to play them for fitness, but there’s no better feeling than going out there when there are points at stake.

“We need to get off to a good start and work from there. It’s in our sights now and we’ve got something to look forward to. We can plan properly.”

Can he possibly have such a goalscoring season again, hitting the net once every 189 minutes on average?

It was a record most strikers would be proud of and he added: “I will swap any goal for three points.

“But I do like to chip in from midfield. Ian had a big part to play in the way I performed. He got the best out of me.

“It’s the way we played, how we set up and how many chances we created. We were a footballing team and that helps players like me.

“When you are comfortable on the ball you get yourself into better situations. If goals come, they come - it’s not all the be all and end all. Creating chances is as important as putting them away as a midfielder.

“Hopefully I can kick on and do the same next season. We’re trying to play football the right way looking at our first few friendly games.

“Everyone knows what the expectations are. Now it’s about going out there and showing people what we are capable of.”

PICTURES BY MIKE PETCH, IAN ALLINGTON & BARROW AFC