Montenegro boss believes Wayne Rooney call-up shows England are scared
Montenegro national team coach Zlatko Kranjcar has spoken of his belief that England boss Fabio Capello has called up struggling Wayne Rooney to his squad because England are worried about the sides’ UEFA 2012 European Football Championship qualifying clash
on Tuesday.
The Southeastern European side have impressed onlookers with their performances so far in this qualifying campaign, with wins over Wales and Bulgaria taking them to the top of the group alongside England.
Manchester United striker Rooney has been under intense scrutiny this season, with allegations that the 24-year-old solicited the services of a prostitute and an ankle injury leading to him fail to play at his usual high standards on the pitch. He has not
played for the English Premier League giants since a 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers — where he was substituted after an hour — but was called up by Capello for the top-of-the-table clash.
'Capello aware we have a good team'
As a result, Kranjcar sees England as a side who are wary of his team’s 100 per cent start to the campaign. He told the Daily Mail that: "It is a sign of how our two wins raised our ratings. Capello is aware we have a good team and called for Rooney as he
wants to leave nothing to chance."
Meanwhile, Kranjcar is hoping that Montenegro will continue their good run of results when they face Switzerland on Friday, with the 53-year-old targeting all three points.
He told reporters that: "For me the results from the first two games were not a surprise, because I know the quality that we have. But we cannot rest on that. We must keep our feet firmly on the ground but we must also believe in ourselves that we are strong
and powerful. We have individual quality and as a team we have enormous potential. We will have to deal with the role of favourites against Switzerland. But we respect them, especially because they are coached by Ottmar Hitzfeld who is one of the best coaches
in the world.”
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