Another leading role in France

ROY HODGSON insists Wayne Rooney will bite back at Euro 2016 after being stung by suggestions England would have been better off without him.

And the Three Lions boss seems to be thinking his skipper – who scored his 52nd goal for the national team in the 2-1 victory over Australia on Friday – will be in the starting line-up against Russia on June 11. Hodgson was full of praise for Rooney and believes his second-half cameo off the bench against the Aussies showed he was bursting to prove the critics wrong in France.

Hodgson said: “I have confidence in him. That is a given. He’s a very good footballer. And good footballers are dangerous people to write off.

“It will be nice if he can bring some of his late-season form with Manchester United to bear with England. There’s no reason why he can’t.

“The stings and blows he’s received may have just nudged him in the right direction along the way.”

The 30-year-old United star might be the country’s all-time leading goalscorer, but that hasn’t stopped some pundits questioning his value to the side – and claiming his lack of pace slows it down.

But Hodgson is determined to back his captain – and hinted he will find room for him in his European Championship team.

He said: “The media tend to praise people to the sky and bury them a little bit more quickly than people like myself, as a coach does.

“But I am pleased to see him playing well. There’s no doubt that when he and James Milner came on [against Australia] it made a difference to our team. Our second-half performance was actually better than our first-half performance.

“It’s up to me to make the decision where he plays, if he plays. Can I play him, Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane in the same team? Of course – it is possible.”

As with the 2014 World Cup, the Three Lions boss has discouraged agents from the

team’s training camps in an attempt to avoid distractions over transfers affecting the mood of the squad. Hodgson added: “We won’t encourage that. You have to be careful of those things. I won’t say an agent won’t sneak in here and there.

“Whether they come to the hotel or not is a moot point. They will be talking to the players face to face, on the phone or via Skype or Facebook, who the hell knows?

“But one thing this group of players know and have accepted is that when you are on England duty, you are on England duty. It is not a question of you sorting out your future, or driving off for medicals.

“We control all of that and you have to accept there is a good chance that if you say you want to go for a medical that we will say ‘we are not allowing that and you better bring your people here’.

“We can facilitate. We are not trying to block players’ futures or transfers but as far as we are concerned our ongoing theme is that England is England, your club is your club.

“While you are with England we want you to stay focused on us.”

Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson last night told Hodgson: “I’ll be ready to face the Russians.”

Ligaments

The Liverpool midfielder showed that he is fully fit following the knee ligament injury that ruled him out for five weeks by playing 90 minutes of England’s victory over Australia. Now Henderson (below) hopes to get the nod for a place in Hodgson’s squad for the Euros after confirming he will be 100 per cent by the time England face Russia in their opening group game in Marseille a week on Saturday. He said: “It’s nice to be back playing againg – but it was toughg as well. “There’s a lot of things I need to workwor on in the next couple of we weeks, just getting my touch andan feel back and getting involvedin in the game a bit more. “But“B I am getting closerclo to the level I wantw to be at and, hopefully in the next week, it will co come. “I’m“not taking anythinganyt for granted. MaybeMay one or two playersplaye are safe, but everyoneeveryon else is fighting for places on the plane. “I’ve bee been injured, so I’m working very hard to get in. If the manage manager wants me, I’ll be over the mo moon. “I feel good, I managed to play 90 minutes and that puts me in good stead for th the game against Portugal on Thurs Thursday.”