Wayne Rooney said he was extremely proud after being named England captain for the World Cup qualifying game against San Marino.
Rooney was given the honor by manager Roy Hodgson, after Frank Lampard was ruled out of the game due to injury. The regular skipper Steven Gerrard is suspended for Friday's game, after picking up a red card in the previous World Cup qualifying encounter.
"It is a great honor," Rooney said. "I'm really proud and excited. It will be a big night for me and my family.
"It is a big challenge for myself. I don't know what sort of captain I am and I already speak with all the players whether it is younger or older.
"But I will try and get the best out of myself and the other players -- and hopefully they can get the best out of me.
"Hopefully it will be a great result for us and I'm looking forward to the game."
Rooney also insisted he was a more mature player, after his recent transgressions on the pitch - particularly his red card against Montenegro and his petulant behavior in the last World Cup in 2010 - brought his England career into question.
"What happened in Montenegro was stupid," he said. "I regretted it as soon as I'd done it. It won't be happening again, I can promise.
"The thing against Algeria was partly to do with looking for a way to justify my own performance. Since then, I've matured more as a player and a person.
"I have cut out a lot of the silly tackles and mistakes I made as a young player. I don't want to be making the wrong type of headlines and missing games I don't want to be missing."
The Manchester United striker said he was keen to emulate former United captain Roy Keane. "He was a great captain, vocal on the pitch and helpful off it," Rooney told reporters. "He didn't scare me. I respected him.
"He was one of the best players in the Premier League and Manchester United history.
"When he had a go at me, I wanted to show what I can do. Sometimes when you want to win, it's not always about sitting down and talking quietly.
"You have a go at each other to try. He was the same with senior players as he was with the younger ones. He wasn't afraid to tell anybody how he wanted them to play."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
