Wayne Rooney roars in-flight pledge of defiance to England boss Fabio Capello

07 September 2010 10:08
Focus: Rooney has assured Capello that his private life will not be a distraction on the pitch[LNB]Wayne Rooney marched down the aisle on England's flight to Switzerland to assure Fabio Capello he is ready to spearhead the attack in tonight's crunch European Championship qualifier. [LNB]Capello was concerned about his best player's state of mind amid the scandal of the front page revelations about his private life. [LNB]But Rooney responded by going to the manager and telling him that he would be able to separate his professional responsibilities from his private hell and perform as he did against Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday night. [LNB]Capello has declared that Rooney would start against the one team to beat world champions Spain in South Africa in the summer.[LNB] 'He will play,' said Capello. 'I've spoken to him. Private things. But I monitored him during the training and he was good. He's focused on the game. I think during this period, when he is on the pitch, he forgets any problems he has.' [LNB]Capello acknowledged that his players should behave off the field. 'It's important, yes,' he said. 'But I think it's also important to stay with the players and to play. For the players, to play, it's a fantastic moment. You forget everything. [LNB]'Look, you have to separate, to divide, at different moments the private life and the job. You have to be strong to divide the two. My job is the second part. The other part is his problem. Rooney played very well on Friday. [LNB]'When he had the ball at his feet he was really good. He's so technically strong and, passing the ball, he was excellent.' [LNB] Just warming up: Rooney (second left) joined (left-right) Steven Gerrard, Phil Jagielka and Theo Walcott in training ahead of England's clash with Switzerland[LNB]Capello said he planned to make just one change to the side that started against Bulgaria, with the injury to Michael Dawson now forcing him to make a choice between Gary Cahill, Matthew Upson and Joleon Lescott for the berth alongside Phil Jagielka in central defence. [LNB]Cahill would appear to be favourite, given that he was sent on as Dawson's replacement at Wembley - for what was his first cap - and spent the entire training session on Monday as partner to Jagielka.[LNB] It would, however, mean that between Joe Hart, Jagielka and Cahill in that central defensive triangle, there will be just 11 caps. [LNB]VIDEO: Capello says Rooney is ready... MARTIN SAMUELl: No one likes Ashley Cole, but you have to admit: He's goodCHARLES SALE: Wayne Rooney too busy to worry, says Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie It started with the Swiss... Fabio Capello's England debut against Switzerland... and how things have changed sinceMartin Keown: Ashley Cole was an Arsenal fan, living the dream[LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail