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Southgate: Rooney our leader
- Updated: October 3, 2016
Interim England manager Gareth Southgate has hailed Wayne Rooney as the “outstanding leader” in the national team and said he never doubted selecting him as captain for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia.
Southgate, who was handed the reins as England manager on a temporary basis last week following the departure of Sam Allardyce, selected Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard in his first squad, alongside 32-year-old Stoke City defender Glen Johnson.
While Southgate has made significant changes to the squad, he underlined the importance of retaining Rooney’s position as captain.
“The decision to make him captain is quite simple,” Southgate said at Monday’s press conference.
“What I’ve seen is he’s the outstanding leader in that group.
“In a period of change the most important thing is leadership, and there was no doubt in my mind about keeping him in that position.
“We can’t just have one …
