England boss Gareth Southgate slams Wayne Rooney boo-boys: His leadership is crucial

Posted Sunday, October 09, 2016 by Express.co.uk

England boss Gareth Southgate slams Wayne Rooney boo-boys: His leadership is crucial
Wayne Rooney was booed by a section of the crowd in England's 2-0 win over Malta

GARETH SOUTHGATE last night urged England fans to lay off Wayne Rooney.

England's stand-in boss leapt to his captain's defence after Rooney was booed by a section of the crowd before and during the World Cup qualifier against Malta.

The outbursts were presumably a consequence of England's disastrous European Championships exit in the summer – but Southgate was having none of it.

He said: "The criticism of him is unfair.

"I presented him with a cap in the week for being the record cap holder with his country, and it's fascinating to get an insight into his world over the last 10 days. Every debate focuses on him.

"The onus on him is enormous, but he ploughs on and plays and captains his country with pride.

"His experience and leadership have been crucial throughout this week, not just today.

"I always look back to the John Terrys, the Frank Lampards, the Ashley Coles who in their time with England also took an enormous amount of criticism.

"But if you look at their caps, they kept turning out and putting themselves on the line. Others have not put themselves forward and withdrawn from squads when the going has got tough.

"If you look at the number of games Wayne has played and his goalscoring feats for England. I just don't quite understand that (booing).

"Guys like him put their neck on the block but that (the booing) seems to be the landscape. I have no idea how that is expected to help him, for sure."

Southgate hinted that Marcus Rashford, a sub yesterday, could start against Slovenia on Tuesday.