Sam Allardyce has offered Wayne Rooney no
assurances over his role in the new England
setup, admitting Manchester United manager Jose
Mourinho could hold the key to his future.
Rooney has captained his country for the past
two years, is the record scorer with 53 goals and
most experienced campaigner with 115 caps.
He has vowed to continue his Three Lions career
under Allardyce, who was officially presented as
Roy Hodgson's successor at St George's Park on
Monday, but serious question marks exist over
his status.
Allardyce declared it was too soon to rubberstamp
his captaincy and indicated Mourinho's use of the
30-year-old would be crucial in the early weeks
of the new season.
Rooney has spent the majority of 2016 as a
playmaking midfielder, for both club and country,
but Mourinho has already indicated that
experiment will not continue on his watch.
Discussing Rooney's future role, Allardyce said:
"It's a decision that I'll make once I've got my
feet under the table.
"It's far too early to make any predictions.
"I still think Wayne Rooney still has a massive
place to play in the England side. I don't think
there is any doubt about that.
"I think Jose will determine [where], because 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.''
Asked if Rooney could be a first-choice for
England if he is forced to play second fiddle to
the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial
at Old Trafford, Allardyce added: "I don't know
until that happens with anybody, let alone Wayne
Rooney.
"Like everything else, you wait until the season
starts. 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. I do
think form at a football club has a place when you
are making your selection.''
Allardyce is held in particularly high esteem by
the League Managers' Association, a matter that
might help when he begins rounding up his
squad in the coming weeks.
As a coach with more than two decades of
domestic football under his belt, the 61-year-old
knows the frustrations that some bosses feel
about releasing their prized assets, but still
expects some conflict of interests.
He has enjoyed frosty relations with Arsenal
manager Arsene Wenger over the years, but with
Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-
Chamberlain to monitor, among others, he may
need to press for a detente with the Frenchman.
"I would like to get round everybody and make
some contact and hear their thoughts,'' he said.
"We've got to try and help each other if we
possibly can. 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.''
The FA have been keen to stress that Allardyce
was the only man they offered the job to --
although that is not quite the same as saying that
others, including Wenger, were not sounded out
first.
Chief executive Martin Glenn pointed to three key
qualities that earned him the nod -- strength of
character, tactical nous and ability to inspire
players.
Of those the latter could be the most important
and Allardyce has no lack of optimism about the
tools at his disposal.
He believes Hodgson's squad was good enough
to win Euro 2016 and will work at extracting the
maximum potential from that group.
And that task fires up the veteran coach more
than another season of fighting for Premier
League survival ever could.
"I think they [could have lifted the trophy] had
they all performed to their best, which they
suggested they were going to beforehand,'' he
said.
"I was extremely excited by the performances that
came before they actually got to the tournament, I
thought there was some outstanding ability in the
team to beat teams.
"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.
"So this is a different level, this is a different
challenge and so I am challenging myself to be
able to meet that challenge to help England get to
a tournament and do better than they've done
before.
"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.''
Posted Africa News Sports
Chapisha Maoni