Man Utd star Wayne Rooney admits he faces BATTLE for England place

Posted Friday, March 27, 2015 by Dailystar.co.uk

WAYNE ROONEY admits he faces a battle to keep his England place.

But the Three Lions captain has warned his fellow strikers he will fight tooth and nail to retain his spot in Roy Hodgson's side.

The emergence of Harry Kane alongside Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling means boss Hodgson is spoilt for choice when it comes to attacking options.

And Rooney is taking nothing for granted, vowing to work harder than ever to make sure he is never dropped.

He said: "To be honest, throughout my career, I've never come and met up with England believing I'm a guaranteed starter.

"I work hard in every training session, and I work hard on the pitch to make sure I keep my place.

"It's great having Harry Kane come through, and Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, who can play up front.

Man Utd star Wayne Rooney admits he faces BATTLE for England place
FIGHTING: Wayne Rooney admits there is a lot of competition for starting spots up front

"It makes me want to work harder because they're exceptional talents.

"I'm not coming here to give my place up. I've been scoring again since I've gone back up front.

"I want to play and keep my place so I'll work as hard as them, harder than them, to make sure I'm in that team."

Rooney will win his 102rd cap tonight when England host Lithuania in a Euro 2016 Group E qualifier at Wembley.

He is also closing in on Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time scoring record with 46 goals as he looks to cement his place as one of England's greatest ever players.

But Rooney despite the threat to his place, Rooney is delighted England can now boast such a dangerous strikeforce.

He added: "Certainly over the last few years, we've got a talented group of strikers. We're doing well, and we're fighting for those one or two places available up front."

Kane is not expected to start tonight, but will make his debut at some stage during this game or next week's friendly against Italy in Turin.

Hodgson, meanwhile, has been forced to draft Southampton's Ryan Bertrand into his squad after full-back Danny Rose pulled out with hip and hamstring injuries.

The England boss also indicated James Milner will not travel to Turin for next week's friendly against Italy due to a nagging knee problem.