Rooney vowed to have a word with his striker Jay Stansfield, who is still on loan from Fulham, as the youngster celebrated after scoring the first goal against Plymouth on Saturday.

The 21-year-old striker celebrated in front of the Plymouth fans after scoring, pulling back his shirt and wearing a T-shirt that read "Once red, always red" inside the lining.

Rooney himself has done something similar at one point in his trophy-laden career, when he displayed a top that read "Once blue, Always blue" after scoring for Everton's youth team. Oh, right, and then he went to Manchester United.

Angry Plymouth fans threw various projectiles at Stansfield, who previously played for Plymouth rivals Exeter City.

The home side eventually fought back after Birmingham led 2-0 and 3-1 before settling for a 3-3 draw.

Rooney complained about his players' celebratory behaviour and warned that "you never know what the reaction of the opposition fans will be".

Rooney explained after the game that sometimes you are better off focusing on the job on the pitch.

"At the end of the day, he is a young player who is learning through the game, he felt the game was very emotional for him and his family, he reacted after the goal and the referee was right to give him a yellow card. I knew he went behind the goal to greet the fans, but I didn't know he was wearing the shirt.

I'll talk to Jay. When you face the fans, you never know how they will react. I've been there myself, I've made similar mistakes on the pitch and I'm sure he'll learn from that."

It is worth mentioning that Birmingham are currently 18th in the Championship.