RAMS ARE IN FOR A ROO-D AWAKENING FROM SWANS

ENGLAND legend Wayne Rooney has been warned Swansea’s young lions are ready to tear into his Derby side.

The nation’s record goalscorer (above) faces a Swans side including three Under-17 World Cup winners. And Swansea boss Steve Cooper promises his next generation of international stars will take it to the Rams.

Cooper (below) said: “There’s obvious quality that Wayne still possesses on the ball – and we have to be mindful of that.

“He catches the attention but they have other good players as well. But we’re at home and we want to take the game to them.

“They’re a big club with a lot of well-known players. It’s no surprise that they’re doing well. But we have home advantage and we’ve done well recently. It’s fantastic for our young players to get this type of Championship experience, you’re pitting your wits against something difficult week in, week out.”

Wales right-back Connor Roberts is in line to return from a shoulder injury but Mike van der Hoorn is still sidelined with a knee issue.

Swansea sit four points off the play-offs, and Cooper has urged his side to grasp their promotion chance heading into the business end of the season.

“We’re certainly getting to that stage where you think about promotion,” he added.

“You get through February, which is notoriously a busy month with a lot of games, and you’re close to countdown then.

“There are three games in the next week, there’s nine points to play for and that can make the difference in a number of ways.

“It’s important that we recognise the present and don’t look back.

“We’ve got to make things happen now. We’ve got to make sure that we deliver now.”

In-form Rooney, 34, might have something to say about that. He has scored in each of Derby’s last three matches.