I’LL BE BACK Rooney: Being axed is NOT end of my England career
WAYNE RooNEY last night vowed to fight for his England future after he was sensationally axed by Gareth Southgate.
Interim manager Southgate has taken the bold decision to drop skipper Rooney for tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia. It follows weeks of speculation over Rooney’s role in the team after a below-par European Championship and underwhelming display in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Malta.
But Rooney, who passes the captain’s armband to Jordan Henderson tonight, insists this is not the end of his 117- cap international career. He said: ‘I believe I can come back from this, of course I do, I am 30 years of age. I am not 35 or 36 where you are thinking, “Can you get back from it?”
‘I will just keep working. I have said before that I will not stop playing for England and think of going to Dubai in the international break. I will turn up when called upon and
be ready. I’ve never thought, “I don’t need this”. After the summer it would have been easy to walk away and say, “That’s it, I’ve had enough,” but that’s not me. ‘I feel I have a lot to offer and I’ve made that clear, certainly up until Russia 2018, if we get there. ‘I’m not suddenly going to turn round and say, “I’m not playing, I’m not going to turn up”. I know I can be a big help for the other players, whether I’m playing or not, both on and off the pitch. ‘I know this is a big moment, of course it is. I am not naive in terms of thinking that I am still a 20-year-old who can do what I did when I was 20. I understand that but I think I have qualities that can help move this team forward.’ The Manchester United star has been replaced by Eric Dier in central midfield tonight but Southgate was also at pains to stress this is not the end of Rooney in an England shirt. He said: ‘I have not taken a decision for anything other than what we think is the right decision for this game. ‘The decision I took at the start was Wayne would be captain and he will remain as captain because he is the outstanding leader in the group. ‘I am very clear that this is the decision I have to make. Sometimes it is far from easy and in this instance it is particularly difficult but that is the job. ‘I think Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson, in terms of their defensive responsibilities, their experience of playing in that role and their athleticism in that position of the field, are going to be asked to do a different type of role from what we asked Wayne to do against Malta on Saturday. ‘Then we needed someone with a calm head to control the game and be on the ball all the time. The challenge against Slovenia is different.’ Rooney backed the decision to give the captain’s armband to Liverpool midfielder Henderson, who was told of his promotion by Southgate just before boarding the plane to Ljubljana. Rooney said: ‘I think Jordan’s a fantastic leader. He’s taken an incredibly difficult job from Steven Gerrard at Liverpool and grown into that position. He’s a fantastic player with great leadership qualities.’ Henderson returned the praise, saying: ‘Wayne has been one of the best players in the world for many years and he sets an example to all of us on and off the field. He is someone we all look up to as a captain and a leader and the type of person he is. ‘He is massive for this team and just because he is not playing, it won’t change anything.’ Southgate will make a late decision on the fitness of left back Danny Rose, who has a slight hamstring problem.