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Rooney plays where he wants, says England manager

Allardyce will know this better than anyone and not until Russian Federation 2018 will anyone be truly able to tell – unless England’s pattern of play changes radically and they turn into a team of incisiveness and beauty – whether he can inspire his team to greater things than Hodgson and a raft of other managers who came before.

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“I think it was possession for possession’s sake for the opening 45 minutes rather than trying to break the opposition down”. “I saw a little nervous tension”. “It’s up to me to ask whether he’s doing well in that position and contributing”, the BBC reported.

Slovakia defender Jan Durica has made the startling claim that England’s victory on Sunday evening was fixed, suggesting the authorities would rather an established country qualify for the World Cup in Russian Federation in 2018.

“This is the most decorated outfield player in England”. “You don’t appoint a new manager, who is largely working with the same players, and achieve an overnight transformation. I can only hope we get stronger”. “The only thing I mentioned about the past is to learn from it and not to feel like that again”.

Allardyce, according to the Daily Mail, has now taken action to help the players still suffering from the trauma caused by the team’s premature exit at the European Championships.

Thomas Muller was on target twice while Joshua Kimmich’s first goal for his country crowned an emphatic start to qualifying, as the Germans immediately took their place at the top of Group C.

The Manchester United star opted for a deep midfield role against Slovakia despite Allardyce agreeing pre-match with Rooney’s club boss, Jose Mourinho, that his best position remains in attack.

Rooney now has 116 caps for his country – just nine short of Shilton’s all-time record, and in all likelihood is going to break that record by the time the next World Cup rolls around in 2018.

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“Was there any need [to push Rooney forward] when we’ve got Dele Alli, Theo Walcott, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling, the full-backs pushing on, Harry Kane?” he said. “We keep plugging away and I thought as a unit we played brilliantly”, said Lallana. “You’ve got to beat ten men and even if we weren’t as clinical as I expected us to be, we richly deserved it based on us dominating the game”. Many had hoped for a stricter attitude from Allardyce – regarded as a no-nonsense manager based on his spells in charge of Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United and, latterly, Sunderland..

England's Wayne Rooney reacts