Wayne Rooney has been accused of being arrogant and warned he faces another test of his fragile temperament when he leads England’s attack against Andorra.

When he plays Croatia, he’s probably not so arrogant.

Rooney is set to renew hostilities with defender Oscar Sonejee, who fought a running battle with him in March last year.

Rooney was booked following a clash with Sonejee and then had to be substituted by former coach Steve McClaren to avoid being sent off during England’s uninspiring 3-0 Euro 2008 qualifying win.

Rooney was yesterday given an early indication of just what he can expect when part-time insurance broker Sonejee went public on their previous run-in.

He said: “We were talking and he said, ‘I’m a star player’ and insulted me – and then I insulted him back.

“In his mind, he was thinking, ‘Who are Andorra? They have small players and are not professional’. Rooney was arrogant, very aggressive. When he plays Croatia, he’s probably not so arrogant.”

Andorra coach David Rodrigo believes England are in a no-win situation.

“We have played twice against England recently and made it difficult for them – and I believe we have improved our level since then,” said Rodrigo.

“A big team like England are criticised even if they beat us. They were criticised last time by everyone – and they won. That will probably make them nervous and we have to build on that.”

England will train this morning before flying to Barcelona and will assess Rio Ferdinand, who was absent for the second successive day yesterday with a bad back.

[Daily Express]

Subscribe to the post comments feeds or Leave a trackback