England v San Marino: Captain’s role is comfortable for ‘mature’ Rooney

In the absence of the suspended Steven Gerrard and injured Frank Lampard, the Manchester United striker will lead the Three Lions against minnows San Marino.

For Rooney, the honour is hugely appreciated with his only previous experience of being England captain having come in a friendly against Brazil in Doha three years ago.

He said: “I am really proud and excited, and, hopefully, it can be a successful night. I don’t think I am going to change my attitude because I am wearing the armband.

“I am quite vocal on the pitch anyway and my determination can hopefully help the team.

“I have captained United a few times, in the Champions League and different stuff. I think it is a great responsibility for me to take.”

Asked who had impressed him as captain in a senior career now into its 11th season, Rooney quickly picked the man who helped bring unparalleled success to Old Trafford in eight years as captain from 1997.

“Roy Keane, without doubt, was a great captain,” said Rooney, who has 29 England goals to his name. “Having played with him for a few years and seeing how he played on the pitch and dealt with things off it, I feel lucky enough to have played with him.

“He was vocal on the pitch and helped me off it. Hopefully, I can gain some of his qualities in my own game.

“I had a few (tellings-off) from Roy. We had a few debates. We wanted to win. Sometimes, when you want to win, it is not always sitting down and talking quietly.

“You have a go at each other to try and get the best out of each other. If you saw the way he was with the other senior players, it was the same as with the younger players.

“He wasn’t afraid to tell everyone how he wanted them to play. He wanted his team to win.”

As the firebrand captain who led from the front as Manchester United conquered Europe, Keane is rightly regarded as one of the most inspirational figures to wear the armband.

He is also, however, someone who had a sometimes appalling disciplinary record with bust-ups, red cards and an infamously crude revenge challenge on Alf-Inge Haaland during one ill-tempered Manchester derby having littered the Irishman’s career.

Rooney, who along with David Beckham holds the unwanted distinction of being sent off twice playing for his country, added: “I was never scared of Roy. I respected him. He was one of the best players in the history of the Premier League and Manchester United. I fully respected him.

“With that type of player, I like it when he has a go at you. I want to show them what I can do. I wasn’t fearful. It was desire and passionate.”

The sell-out clash with San Marino will represent Rooney’s first international outing of the season after missing last month’s 5-0 win in Molodova and the 1-1 draw at Wembley against Ukraine through injury.

It will also be his first taste of qualifying action since the rash kick out at Miodrag Džudovi in the 2-2 draw with Montenegro that clinched England’s place at Euro 2012.

The dismissal led to Rooney missing the first two group games of last summer’s finals, something that he bitterly regrets.

He said: “That was a stupid thing to do, and I regretted it as soon as I had done it. I apologised and paid the price.

“It won’t be happening again, I can promise. After that, at club level, you saw a different person. I cut out a lot of the silly tackles and mistakes I made as a young player. I have no issue with that.

“I feel I have matured as a player. I feel I have learned the game better, and have a different style. Whatever the manager asks me to do, I can do it.

“Hopefully I can help the players and myself.”

Rooney will be hoping to boost his tally of international goals tonight when England take on a side ranked 207th in the world.

If he can bag at least a couple, the 26-year-old will leapfrog Alan Shearer, Nat Lofthouse and Tom Finney into fifth place in the all-time list.

He said: “People have mentioned I will get into the top five (goalscorers) if I get a couple more and that would be great.

“Obviously, the result is more important, but it is a good opportunity for us to try and get a few goals.

“We have to make sure we don’t take them too lightly and we don’t relax during the game. We have to forget they are ranked 207th, and instead focus on ourselves.

“We have seen lower league teams knocking big teams out of cup competitions and we need to stay focused. But we do expect ourselves to win.”

Once tonight’s clash with San Marino is over, England’s preparations will begin immediately for Tuesday’s altogether more testing qualifier in Poland.

With Gerrard back from suspension, Rooney is ready to hand the armband back to his fellow scouser and someone who, like Keane, he also admires greatly.

As for the make-up of the team to face the minnows, Hodgson has given little away – meaning Ashley Cole is sweating on whether he wins his 99th international cap tonight.

The England manager said: “My thoughts this week have been based on how best to use the squad, knowing whatever team I choose at Wembley is likely to be able to win that game and how many players do I spare or keep fitter and fresher for Tuesday, because we have a very important game in Poland.”