“But we have to be courageous and we have to get balls with quality forward and get players in good positions and hit them as quick as we can”.
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Adam Lallana scored his first global goal in the 95th minute of the Group F qualifier in new manager Sam Allardyce’s first game in charge. “We got what we deserved”, he said.
“I think it’s one of the ultimate jobs and you want every skill set possible when you go into it. Sam obviously has years and years of experience”.
“I haven’t asked what their biggest fear is”, he said.
Played in a midfield role by Sam Allardyce in the late 1-0 win over Slovakia on Sunday, Rooney had little involvement in either end of the pitch and looked somewhat aimless at times.
“I am using his experience to its maximum and encouraging him to play very well, which I thought he did”.
Sloppy goalkeeping helped Lallana score his first England goal in his 27th global after his shot went through Matus Kozacik’s legs.
A father and son gave the new national team boss the penny in the team hotel on the morning of the match, and Allardyce kept it in his pocket.
“Yes, I’d like him to get forward a bit more”.
Harry Kane is not now the domineering number nine England need and want him to be, Raheem Sterling did not bring his Manchester City form with him to Trnava and Jordan Henderson failed to take his chance in the centre. That’s not to say that he’s going to revolutionise the England team, but he has to learn from old mistakes and make improvements, including potentially dropping Rooney. “I am happy where I’m playing”.
It is unlikely to be the last we hear about Rooney’s place in the team, or his apparent influence on Allardyce’s tactics.
Allardyce suggested post-match that it was not up to him to dictate where Rooney played and that he had the freedom to operate wherever he felt was necessary to impact upon the game.
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“But we are getting better in every game and it is a really boost that we won and hopefully we can kick on now in the rest of the group games”.
