Rooney unconcerned by goals record

Wayne Rooney insists his international goalscoring record is not weighing on his mind as he approaches England's World Cup qualifier in Zagreb.

Rooney: The goals will come
Rooney: The goals will come

Since scoring twice in Euro 2004 against Croatia, their opponents on Wednesday, the Manchester United forward has added five goals in an England shirt to take his overall tally to 14.

Observers have noted Rooney's other contributions aside from goalscoring, and the 22-year-old believes finding the back of the net is just one part of his game.

"I've no problem with it," Rooney said.

"It's a new campaign, a new start, and hopefully we can do well in this campaign."

Against Andorra in their opening qualifier, he set up Joe Cole's second goal at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona to give Fabio Capello's men a win to take into the clash against Croatia, who defeated them twice in their last campaign.

Midfielder Frank Lampard said: "The thing with Wayne is that he is not just a goalscorer, he's a creator and works hard for the team, creating angles, not just an out-and-out striker."

The Croatia clash has been billed as the fixture that could define England's campaign and provide evidence of their progress under Capello.

"Croatia are a good footballing team and we know we'll have to be at the top of our game," Rooney explained.

"We'll have to defend well, first of all, and create opportunities going forward. Hopefully we can do that."

Rooney has had his temperament questioned during his career but was restrained as Andorra looked to frustrate England at Montjuic.

"A couple of their defenders went into the game with certain things on their minds - to try and upset our players - but I think the whole team coped well with it," he added.

"It was a difficult game. They come and didn't really want to win the game or play. They just wanted to spoil it for us. But, as I say, we were professional and we did a good job.

"As a forward, they've got so many defenders back there that it is difficult at times. It was a bit frustrating, but I thought we coped well."

Your Comments

R00NEY (Manchester United fan)

"come on Rooney get in there!!!!!"

Silvermachine (Tottenham Hotspur fan)

"Lampard and Beckham should never again wear the 3 Lions. Becks at least tries but is now a shadow of his former self and Lampard is an embarrassment to our nation. Boy do we miss Scholes!!!"

Silvermachine (Tottenham Hotspur fan)

"Defoe and Heskey up front? Is that ALL we have? So it wouldnt be worth looking at Ashton? Agbonlahor? The very fact Heskey is there is testament to how bad things are for England"

Alucard (Manchester United fan)

"liv4ever, Liverpool fan, he has to create chances for people like Cole to score because Gerrard is utterly useless."

mel0107 (Manchester United fan)

"walcott played well? u mux b joking.. Other den sprinting fast what else did he do? "

James20 (Manchester United fan)

"His international goal scoring record is as good as that of Torres. I wonder if the Spanish fans and media barrack him?"

toon_matt (Newcastle United fan)

"Just watched Alan Shearer playing for soccer aid and Shearer would score more goals even at his age than Rooney in the current England team, Rooney needs to be dropped as he is crap."

redhearted (Manchester United fan)

"liv4ever!!! Who is going to create the goals for England if Roo isn“t there?"

farmer_john (Arsenal fan)

"he should score more goals, he's a striker, isn't he? we should push gerrard or lamps further forward and drop him. at least they can score goals and do some midfield work too. nice to see theo playin though, one of the better performances. lookin forward to ramsey nailin down a full place in wales team too. looks good for the arsenal youth at the mo. "

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