How First Dates helped Rooney prepare for first win

Wayne Rooney guided Plymouth Argyle to their first win under his leadership in Wednesday night's EFL Cup tie against Cheltenham

Wayne Rooney said watching the television programme First Dates - where hopeful singletons find love over dinner in a smart restaurant - helped him wind down after an awful start to his time in charge at Plymouth Argyle.

The former England captain says he watched it after his side's 4-0 thumping by Sheffield Wednesday to give him time away from football.

Rooney revealed his enjoyment of the Channel Four show after guiding his side to a 3-0 win over League Two side Cheltenham Town in the Carabao Cup - his first victory since taking over at Home Park.

"There's always pressure, of course there is, that's part of the game," Rooney told BBC Sport.

"After the game on Sunday I turned my phone off and I watched an episode of First Dates.

"It's important you can switch off, you can get away from it and then I revisited it early Monday morning and watched the game back.

"You can have a bad game, that happens, it's important that they are able to switch off because sometimes then you can think too much about it and that does affect you mentally."

Maitre d' Fred Sirieix is one of the stars of First Dates

Watching Fred, Merlin Griffiths and the rest of the staff at the First Dates restaurant clearly had the desired effect as his side progressed to a second round League Cup tie away at Watford later this month.

And he is aware that being a former England captain and ex-record goalscorer for his country will bring extra pressure on both him and his new club - especially when results do not go as planned.

"I understand it. I get there's a lot more scrutiny on me, that's fine, I can deal with that.

"I know what we're doing and what we're trying to achieve at the club.

"It was a surprise on Sunday [against Wednesday] but I don't think it was a time to panic and we've had to get the team in, discuss it, put that game to bed on Sunday.

"There were some harsh words said to the players on that performance and I wanted and expected a reaction tonight and thankfully I got that."