England caretaker manager Gareth Southgate insists he is capable of making big decisions and is strong enough to drop Wayne Rooney from the starting XI.
The Manchester United captain started for the Three Lions 2-0 win over Malta at the weekend despite losing his place in the side at club level in recent weeks and was booed before and during the game at Wembley by sections of supporters.
Furthermore, there has been question marks as to if the 30-year-old deserves to start for the England based on his recent performances and Southgate has stressed that he will make a decision in the best interests of the national team.
“The biggest decision of my career? Making some really close friends redundant — that’s probably as big as you can get,” said Southgate, as reported by the Daily Mail when asked if how big a decision dropping Rooney would be.
“I’ve got to make decisions which are right for the team. Whenever you select a team with England, you’re going to leave some guys on the bench who are playing every week in the Premier League for their clubs.
“You have to be prepared to do that, that’s part and parcel of the job.”
Southgate is set to be face with somewhat of a selection dilemma for tomorrow night’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia as he’s expected to recall Tottenham’s Eric Dier in midfield and following impressive showings from Jordan Henderson and Dele Alli last time out, Rooney could find himself on the bench.
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