Macclesfield’s John Rooney: ‘I have ambitions to manage as high as I can’

John Rooney is clear in his ambition to manage at the highest level possible but he wants to go on that journey with Macclesfield.

Rooney, brother of former England captain Wayne, put his own name in the headlines with the Silkmen’s stunning FA Cup third-round upset of Crystal Palace last month, and will get another crack at Premier League opposition when Brentford visit Moss Rose on Monday night.

It has been a whirlwind start to life as a manager for the 35-year-old, who replaced Robbie Savage in the Macclesfield dugout in the summer having been part of the squad that won the Northern Premier League title last season.

“I’m brand new into the management scene and I have ambitions to manage as high as I can,” Rooney said.

“If that wasn’t my ambition I’d be in the wrong role, but hopefully I can push Macclesfield on to where we think we can get to.

“We’ve got a long journey ahead of us here and it’s a club going in the right direction. I want to manage as high as possible and hopefully that can be with this club.”

Rooney joined the old Macclesfield Town’s academy after being released by Everton, and came through to begin a playing career which included spells with New York Red Bulls, Orlando City, Chester, Wrexham, Barrow and Stockport among others, before he returned to Moss Rose in 2023.

He expressed his interest in the manager’s job in the summer of 2024 when Savage took it instead, and seized the chance that came when the Welshman left for Forest Green at the start of July.

“Did I think it would happen this fast?” Rooney said. “Probably not but once the opportunity did come I wanted to grab it with both hands because you never know what’s around the corner or when a job is going to become available.”

While the FA Cup has brought international attention to the Silkmen, Rooney’s main target is to keep Macclesfield progressing up the pyramid. Since the win over Palace, they have won five of their six National League North games to move into the play-off places.

“We’ve taken everything in our stride and I haven’t taken that step back to look at everything we’ve achieved because we’ve got other targets as well and we need to be cracking on with them,” he said.

– What the soccer world can learn from FA Cup heroes Macclesfield- Biggest FA Cup shock ever: Macclesfield stun holders Crystal Palace

Rooney’s managerial career is young but it has already included a task no manager should ever have to face. Forward Ethan McLeod, just 21, was killed in a car accident returning from a match in December and Rooney personally called every player in the squad to tell them the news.

The majority of those players were Rooney’s team-mates last season, and he has thanked them for the way they have adjusted to having him as their manager.

“To come in and manage players who I played with last year and shared the changing room with can sometimes be really challenging but the lads have helped me in that sense and they’ve had my back when there have been little drops in our performances,” he said.

“Credit to the lads, they’ve been incredible for me.”