• England news

Capello insists Rooney will play against Switzerland

England coach Fabio Capello insists Wayne Rooney will play against Switzerland on Tuesday, maintaining that players are responsible for matters in their private lives.

Rooney, 24, has come under the microscope following newspaper revelations regarding his private life that were published over the weekend.

Speaking at his press conference in Basel, ahead of Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier at St Jakob Park, Capello faced a barrage of questions about the striker, with the Italian declaring he is in the right frame of mind to play.

"He will play," Capello said. "I spoke with him and I've monitored him during the two days after the game with Bulgaria. He was really good on the pitch and he will be in a good situation tomorrow. I hope the performance of Rooney will be the same as I saw at Wembley."

When asked whether he was worried that Rooney may not be in the right state of mind to play on Tuesday, he said: "No, I think absolutely no. He trained really good and I spoke with him and he's happy to play. For this reason, the players when they want to play, is really important for me.

"The players know what they have to do during their private lives. But it's a private life. The players know what I ask of them, usually, but it's also important for us, the team, that the performance on the pitch is good, it's really important. I am a manager, they are the players, and we have to play to win.

"We are focused on the game not about players' private life. We are here to play this game."

Captain Steven Gerrard also backed Rooney to put his off-field issues to one side and deliver a good display to help his team-mates.

"I spoke to him today at lunchtime and trained with him yesterday. Wayne's been fine, and he's looking forward to the game and looking forward to playing well," he said.

When asked if playing will help Rooney get his mind off the newspaper revelations, he said: "I hope so. I think football can do that for you. Sometimes when you have an issue off the field, football can be a release from that. Once the game starts I'm sure Wayne will be focusing on playing well himself and doing a job for the team so that we get three points.

"We expect big performances from Wayne every time he goes out. He's a world class player - you saw that the other night with Bulgaria. I expect another big performance from him, like I do every time I play with him."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.