ENGLAND V CZECH REPUBLIC: THERE REMAINS something of the street footballer about Wayne Rooney, a desire to be at the heart of everything. It is particularly apparent in times of trouble. He cannot bear to stand idly by.
Yet the striker has admitted he might have to heed the advice of Alex Ferguson, his manager at Manchester United, and curb his natural exuberance. He is beginning to accept that a slightly more selfish edge to his game might benefit both club and country.
"Maybe at times I am a bit too honest and, at club level, the manager is telling me not to defend too much, to try and save some energy for when we are attacking," said Rooney, who played in England's 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
"Sometimes you just want to win the ball back and work hard for the team. That is just how I play. Maybe it does affect my goal tally but hopefully I can learn and get better."
Rooney started at Wembley in what the manager, Fabio Capello, described as a 4-3-2-1 formation. Together with Steven Gerrard to his left, he was asked to support the lone striker Jermain Defoe, in front of a three-man midfield. Yet Rooney was often to be found in deep or wide areas as he tried desperately to spark his struggling team. Defoe was left isolated and the Czechs were delighted to contain Rooney in non-threatening spaces.
"Me and Steven were asked to play deeper behind JD and I thought it went well given it was the first time," said Rooney, who was substituted after 69 minutes.
"I just love going out there and playing, to enjoy it. Hopefully we can improve and find the right solution to take the team forward to the World Cup."
The criticism levelled at Rooney on Wednesday was that he largely failed to take up positions in which he could hurt the opposition. He even provided cover on occasion for England's onrushing midfielders. The team's performance lacked cohesion and only goals from corners bailed them out.
"I have probably only had seven days' training since we came back from Africa," said Rooney. "But playing on Sunday and on Wednesday will have helped with the fitness. Hopefully I can get a few more games under my belt for my club and will be 100 per cent fit for the qualifiers.
"We have to take on Andorra first, then we go on to Croatia and all the players cannot wait for that, with what they did to us - they embarrassed us a bit. We can't wait to get over there and beat them. We want to pay them back."
