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'Tired' Rooney not angry at substitution in Poland

Wayne Rooney lasted 73 minutes in Poland © PA Photos

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Wayne Rooney says he understands why he was taken off in England's 1-1 draw against Poland, admitting he ran out of energy on the heavy pitch in Warsaw, which will be of concern to Manchester United ahead of Saturday's clash with Stoke.

Rooney netted England's opener with a first-half header, but he failed to influence the game as Poland became increasingly dangerous, resulting in a 70th-minute equaliser.

The Manchester United man was then replaced three minutes later by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, despite England needing to score in order to claim victory. However, Rooney had no problem with Hodgson's decision.

"I know I can play better than that. It was hard work, getting up and down," he said. "The pitch wasn't great. It took a lot out of your legs. But I was delighted to score and help us get a point.

"In the first half, I was making long runs back and then trying to get forward. Then I went out to the left for the second half and I was a bit tired, so I've no problem with being taken off."

Rooney was not overly disappointed with England's failure to win against Poland, singling out the rain-sodden pitch for criticism. He now wants his team-mates to pull together and get things right, starting with a friendly in Sweden next month.

"We know we can play a lot better than that. But at least we got the point, so we can take that home," the forward said. "We'll go over for a game in Sweden next month and see where we could have improved and where we could do better.

"Hopefully, we will win the rest of our home games and we will have a great chance. It was a hard-fought point. It was a difficult game on a difficult pitch.

"We knew it was a tough group but we're confident. We believe in ourselves and we believe we are the best team in the group, so we are confident of qualifying."

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