Rooney: Mac Says He’s Not World Class
Sun: WE used to accept it as established fact, like the Earth being round . . . Wayne Rooney is world class.
Previous England boss Sven Goran Eriksson said it so often we thought it was the striker’s double-barrelled middle name.
And when the Swede left after the last World Cup, he told the country to look after Rooney because he would be England’s most important player if we were ever to achieve success.
Even last week, Eriksson’s successor, Steve McClaren called Rooney world class.
But in the space of the last seven days, McClaren has revised his opinion. Rooney now only has the “potential” to be world class.
Something of a drop in status for the Manchester United star.
Perhaps it was Rooney’s candid assessment earlier in the week of his own poor form for England which has encouraged McClaren to take a more realistic approach as well.
McClaren said: “From my point of view, Wayne Rooney has the potential to be a world-class player. He’s still got a long way to go and a lot to learn but he has the potential to do that and he’s a very important player for England.
“He knows the potential he’s got and what he has to do to realise that.”
Three years ago, Rooney’s broken metatarsal in the Euro 2004 quarter-final against Portugal was cited as the reason we did not win the tournament.
And when he broke a toe again before the 2006 World Cup, Eriksson was beside himself admitting England needed Rooney if they were to lift the trophy.
But it is more than three years since Rooney last scored a competitive goal for England and he accepts he has not done himself justice in an international shirt in recent years.
McClaren admired the striker’s frankness and clearly hopes all the talk will bring rich rewards from the Rooney-Michael Owen double act today.
They will be up front together against Estonia at Wembley for the first time under McClaren, even though he has been in the job over a year. The England boss said: “I think the comments from Wayne were very honest and should be applauded.
“I’m all for players coming out with honest comments like that, and expressing disappointment in their performances.
“It’s refreshing and there should be more of that. He’s not making excuses.
“I would say that he’s been a little unfortunate with England. He’s missed squads because of injury and when he’s come in he’s just been getting back into form and fitness.
“But he should just continue what he’s doing. He’s still very inexperienced and very young.
“He’s gone through some terrific experiences and he just has to keep performing at the level he’s performing at since he’s come back for United.
“We want him to prove it on the field — score goals, make goals, be the threat that Wayne Rooney is.”
McClaren feels Rooney has put pressure on himself with the manner in which his career took off, resulting in a £30m move from Everton to United in 2004.
McClaren added: “The way he exploded on to the scene warranted the attention.
“To be fair, it’s carried on. The move to Manchester United was a good club for him. He’s learning and developing through them.
“He’s got a lot of years ahead of him to become even better.”
But Steven Gerrard — stand-in skipper today in the absence of the injured John Terry — reckons his big mate Rooney has been too critical of his England displays.
The Liverpool star said: “He’s been a bit hard on himself.
“He has suffered a lot of big injuries and he has not played for England for a while.
“If he gets a run in the side and stays fit, there is no reason why Wayne can’t do for England what he does with United because the talent is there.
“If he and Michael are scoring goals and playing well, we’re confident we can beat anyone.”
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