Zimpapers Logo

LONDON. — Wayne Rooney admits it was the right decision to drop him from the Manchester United team and says he’d also take losing his England place on the chin. Rooney was axed by Jose Mourinho and, in a searingly honest interview, the Three Lions’ captain accepted that he had played “very bad” and would not have picked himself.United star Rooney, who turns 31 this month, confessed that he has lost some of his pace and his performance was so poor at Watford last month that he can understand Mourinho’s decision. Rooney said: “I knew the Watford game, I didn’t play well. I didn’t deserve to play the next game, I understood that. And the team have done well, so I have to bide my time and take my chance.

“I have had criticism a lot of times. Listen, I had a bad game at Watford. I played bad, I know that and I understand that. I think if he (Mourinho) was picking the next team on the back of that I understand not playing.

“The team have done well, certainly in the Leicester game, since that. I understand I have to work hard and try and get back and try and get my chance and then take it. If the England manager turned around on Saturday or Tuesday, and I was on the bench for two games . . .

“Look, of course I want to play, but I am not going to turn around and say I am not playing for England again. “I know I can do better. If I don’t play very well there is a massive over-hype, which comes from everywhere really, so I have to just focus on playing.”

Rooney has already been told by newly-appointed interim manager Gareth Southgate that he will remain as England captain. But he was honest about his decline as a player and made it clear that he is fed-up of the constant debate over whether he should play up front or in midfield.

“It’s obvious I’m not as quick as I was,” he said. “You can always have a football brain. I’ve got that. A lot is made of where I play, and how I play, and obviously it gets a bit frustrating at times. “Of course there will come a time, if I’m not playing, I might have to be a bit more selfish in terms of where I want to play and making that clear. But at the minute I’m happy playing where my managers want me to play.”

Meanwhile, Rooney insists he played “exactly to instructions” for Sam Allardyce, who has apologised to him for suggesting he just did what he wanted against Slovakia. Rooney — who said he has had no contact with the disgraced former England since he lost his job after 67 days following a newspaper sting — revealed Allardyce admitted his error on the flight back after World Cup qualifier. England beat Slovakia 1-0 with a last-gasp winner after which Allardyce claimed Rooney had ended up playing “wherever he had wanted to be” in the game.

His comments created the impression the England captain had disregarded orders and prompted Allardyce’s interim successor Southgate to reiterate his players must have “positional discipline.” Yet Rooney presented a different side to the story as he waded into the going debate over his form and what is his best position.

“It was a bit of misunderstanding after the last game, when Sam came out and said I play where I want,” said Rooney. “I played exactly to instructions, what was asked of me, that role. I didn’t come in and say I want to play here or there, I played where I was asked to play. “That was a big misunderstanding that I seemed to get slaughtered for. “I knew he made a mistake. He said that to me on the plane home.”

Rooney said the interpretation was he was picking the team and continued: “Which couldn’t be further from the truth. I play to instructions. “I got battered in many different ways for my performance, which I felt was actually a decent performance. I was nowhere near as bad a lot of people were making out. I suffered from that, but I thought Sam’s change in putting Dele Alli on allowed us to win the game. With me and Eric (Dier) controlling it and winning the second balls, getting balls into dangerous areas.

“He knew he had made a mistake. That’s part of being involved at this level. He understood that quite early and unfortunately he doesn’t have the chance to rectify that now.” Rooney said he, like all the players, was “sad” to see Allardyce leave, but added he had not spoken to him or contacted him by text message.

Southgate, whom Rooney played against at club level and alongside with England, now has four games to enhance his claims to be the national team’s next permanent manager, starting with Malta on Saturday. “The one thing I’m excited about is he’s a young English manager who wants to do well for England,” added Rooney.“We’ve seen that with the Under-21s over the last few years and it’s a big opportunity for him now. We have to try to win for him.

“If the results go well I’m sure he will be in a position where the FA will sit down with him, if that’s what he wants. It’s a big four games for him.”Danny Rose, Theo Walcott and Phil Jagielka all did gym work yesterday rather than take part in Southgate’s first training session. — The Mirror.