Dropping Rooney not a reflection of his form, says Southgate
Wayne Rooney's career seems to have taken a turn for the worse as he has been dropped from the English side as well after losing his place in the Manchester United starting lineup. Rooney has described it as a "difficult period" in his life as he still holds on to the captaincy of both sides.
Gareth Southgate, who was named as the interim manager following the sacking of Sam Allardyce, has claimed that the decision is a tactical one rather than on the basis of the striker's form.
Rooney, who was booed by some English fans in Wembley during the team's 2-0 win over Malta, has said that he does not consider being on the bench an embarrassment and again reiterated that he would train hard and be ready to play a part for both club and country when called upon.
"I'm not denying it is in a difficult period. I've been on the bench the last few games for Manchester United but that's part of football," said Rooney, as reported by the BBC.
"I have to work hard and, when I'm needed for both club and country, I'll make sure I'm ready."
"We have looked at the way Slovenia play and I knew in my mind the profile of the midfield I wanted to play in this game. In no way is it a reflection of Wayne's performance on Saturday," Southgate said in Rooney's defence.
"He had a lot of the ball and played with great tactical discipline. It's not an easy decision to take because of the respect I have for him as the captain of this team."
Rooney is still the captain of the red devils and Southgate has no plans of taking away his English armband, however, Jordan Henderson will act as the on-field skipper against Slovenia. Rooney was full of praise for the Liverpool midfielder saying that it would be a proud moment for the former Sunderland player to captain his country.
"I think Jordan is a fantastic leader. He has taken a difficult job from Steven Gerrard and grown into the position. He has great leadership qualities and he deserves his chance. It will be an incredibly proud moment for him and his family," Rooney added.
Rooney is England's record scorer with 53 goals in 117 appearances but has managed to score only one goal in 12 games for club and country this season. Having said that, his numbers are still better than all other strikers at Southgate's disposal. In the last ten games played for the national side, Rooney has 11 shots on target while Daniel Sturridge has had 10 and Harry Kane has 9, even though he has played six games in midfield.
Rooney also said that he could have taken the easy way out and retired after the European Championships after the defeat to Iceland, but he explained that it was not in his nature to quit and he wanted to "re-evaluate" his playing style to prolong his career.
"Ryan Giggs at 30 wasn't the same player as at 18 - and he played till he was 40. Players re-evaluate and work out the best way to move forwards. I'm sure that will happen with me. After the summer it would have been easy for me to walk away and say: 'That's it, I've had enough.' But that's not me," the 30-year-old concluded.