Rooney promises to clean up his act

ENGLAND striker Wayne Rooney yesterday warned defenders they will be wasting their time trying to wind him up at the World Cup finals as he vowed to clean up his disciplinary act.

While the Manchester United striker insisted his team-mates would make the most of any attempt to target him, he vowed to use the frustration of his Euro 2004 injury as added inspiration to win the trophy.

In the past month, Rooney has been sent off for United after sarcastically clapping referee Kim Milton Nielsen and banned for England’s qualifier against Austria with his second booking of the campaign in Belfast.

Combined with an angry outburst at David Beckham, who urged him to calm down in Belfast, the 19-year-old’s volatility has become a cause for concern.

However, he insists he will pass the next test of his fragile temperament, with Nielsen set to referee tomorrow’s tie against Poland and will also not let his team-mates down next summer.

Asked if he could cope with being a marked man at the World Cup, Rooney said: “Yes. Obviously in the past, sometimes my temperament has let me down a couple of times but I’m a young lad and I’m going to learn from that.

“I don’t think there will be many problems in the future. I go into each game and want to win. I’m 110% committed.

“Sometimes when it hasn’t gone right, my temperament has let me down a bit but I’m trying to put that right and I want to get better.”

Asked if he believed teams would try to wind him up to provoke a response, he admitted: “Yes, probably, but I’m an experienced player now and I want to prove that.”

But would it actually be a benefit if he was targeted, allowing the likes of Beckham, Frank Lampard and Michael Owen more space in which to inflict damage on the opposition?

“Maybe, yes. We’ve got some great players in the team and if they have too much time and space, then they’ll punish teams,” he agreed.

As for his encounter with Nielsen tomorrow, he insisted: “I think he’s a good referee. He’s been refereeing for years and has done a good job so there’s no problem there.”

Being sent off at Old Trafford would, after all, rule him out of the start of the World Cup finals.

“I don’t think there’s any chance of that. We’ll concentrate on winning the game and that’s it,” he stressed.

England will be without Steven Gerrard, Gary Neville, Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell and Beckham for the game against Poland, although Paul Robinson and Luke Young should be fit despite missing training yesterday.

Ledley King, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Rio Ferdinand should return, while Rooney is looking to lift the nation after securing qualification for the World Cup finals.

“It’s not nice missing any game, so I’m determined to win and get a few goals,” said the striker, who made such an impact at Euro 2004 before getting injured against Portugal in the quarter-finals.

“I was gutted when I had to come off against Portugal and that’s made me more determined to go there and bring the cup home for us.