Sam Allardyce: Jose Mourinho to determine Wayne Rooney's England role
Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will determine where Wayne Rooney plays for his country, says new England boss Sam Allardyce.
Rooney, 30, featured as a forward and in midfield under previous England manager Roy Hodgson during Euro 2016.
Allardyce said it was too soon to confirm whether Rooney, England's record scorer, would remain as captain.
"I still think Wayne Rooney has a massive place to play in the England side," said the 61-year-old.
"If Jose says he is not going to play him in centre midfield and he is playing up front and scoring goals for Manchester United then it would be pointless me bringing him into England and playing him in centre midfield."
With Rooney likely to face competition for a starting spot at Old Trafford from forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial, Allardyce said a player's club form will be important in him being selected.
"I don't know until that happens with anybody, let alone Wayne Rooney," he added. "I hope there are standout players all over the place when the Premier League starts.
"I hope it's a hugely difficult task for me to pick my first squad because everybody is on really good form and playing exceptionally well."
Allardyce's first game in charge will be a World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on 4 September, and he hopes to have made contact with Premier League managers to "hear their thoughts" before choosing his squad.
"We've got to try and help each other if we possibly can," said Allardyce, who has more than two decades' worth of domestic coaching experience.
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"It won't always be the case, the demands on Premier League managers and demand on me as England manager is bound to cause some conflict down the line because the pressures are far greater than ever before.
"So they are bound to want to protect their players and that is what I have to try and overcome with a little bit of give and take, hopefully."
Allardyce, who has managed clubs including Sunderland, West Ham, Newcastle and Bolton, believes England had the players to win Euro 2016 "had they all performed to their best".
Having signed a two-year deal with the Football Association, he said taking England further than they have progressed at recent tournaments is a "different level" of challenge.
Allardyce added: "I think that this is a new challenge for me. It's outside of my comfort zone, which is what I like.
"The challenge of the Premier League is not as big a challenge to me as when I first got there because I've done it for so long. I've managed in there for such a long time that I know I can achieve at that level.
"I'm ready for this now. After 950 games as a manager there is something you want to change in your life sometimes and this was it for me."
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Big Sam has to be strong here and do what none of the previous England managers had the balls to do. Drop the bigger names for the better players.
Time to move on from Rooney, he isn't the future and other players playing well for their club shouldn't be overlooked just to accommodate him.
Please, Please, Please, can you pick players in good form who'll play as a team.
Instead of:
Reputation, which team they play for, Marketing opportunities, or what the Leaders at the FA prefer.
Yours
England Fans
You've had plenty of chances, you didn't take them.
There are better strikers than you and also better midfielders than you. Also, it seemed as though forcing you into midfield ruined the balance of the rest of the team in the Euros.
The best thing I've heard Sam say is that he'll bring good man management. The players are good but mentally weak and soft. If anyone is going to make men out of them it's Sam.
A very sensible and logical statement to me that he was clearly making as a general view to all players.
Spot on.
Hodgson made the classic mistake of trying to shoehorn players into a team. Rooney had played the qualifiers as a forward. Kane and Vardy were in excellent form leading up to the tournament. He had to make a decision and i'm afraid (as previous England managers have often done) he bottled it.
Jesus, people moan when England players are played out of position!!!
Get off Sam's back.
Are you listening... Lineker...Shearer...Murphy...Ferdinand...Phil McNulty...etc..
...a decade of getting it wrong....from these 'experts'....
Time to move on.
England don't need any assistance from the toxic one............Allardyce just needs to watch the Iceland match again
This will show the real Rooney.....the Rooney that never turns up for Engalnd when it really matters......
Probably the worst England Captains performance ever.....so poor even Roy Hodgson subbed him...
On a side note why has nobody questioned why Barkley went to the Euros? He never played a game even as a sub. Kinda begs the question if Roy even had a choice in his selection.