Lescott: Rooney will keep his cool

Joleon Lescott is sure Wayne Rooney will not lose his temper in Montenegro as England look to claim top spot in Group H at the scene of perhaps the maddest moment of the striker’s international career.

Rooney was banned for the first two matches of Euro 2012 after kicking out at Montenegro midfielder Miodrag Dzudovic in their qualifier 17 months ago.

The petulant kick was the latest in a line of controversial issues that have dogged the 27-year-old throughout his career.

That famous stamp on Ricardo Carvalho in the 2006 World Cup and a series of off-the-field problems have meant there have always been concerns over Rooney’s temperament, but, in fairness to the striker, he has kept out of trouble since his indiscretion in Montenegro capital in October 2011.

England manager Roy Hodgson is wary Montenegro will try to wind Rooney up in tomorrow night’s crunch qualifier, but Lescott is convinced the former Everton man will not snap.

“Wayne is older now. He is more experienced and mature,” the England defender said.

“We all are. I don’t think there will be a problem.

“We want to be disciplined and professional. With the calibre of players in this squad, I don’t think it will be a problem.”

Lescott has undergone something of a roller-coaster week. The Manchester City man has been kept out of Roberto Mancini’s starting XI for the majority of the season, giving Hodgson no option other than to initially leave the 30-year-old out of his squad, despite his impressive performances at Euro 2012.

But injuries to Michael Dawson, Phil Jagielka, Rio Ferdinand and Gary Cahill mean he will now be one of the first names on Hodgson’s teamsheet tomorrow night.

Lescott, who will be partnered by 22-year-old Chris Smalling, has only completed 10 Premier League games this term, with his most recent start at club level coming against Championship strugglers Barnsley in the FA Cup.

Lescott barely had a tackle to make on Friday night as England strolled to an 8-0 win in San Marino, but he insists he is prepared to do combat with feared Serie A strikeforce Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic, who have scored 23 goals between them this season.

“I haven’t been in (the City team) as much as I would have liked this season, but I played against Barnsley, so my sharpness wasn’t too far away, and San Marino was a massive game for me to be involved in,” the former Everton defender said.

“I did my best in training. The manager feels he can trust us all. My experience of dealing with difficult opponents at Euro 2012 can definitely help against Montenegro.”

The 8-0 hammering of a team who have not won a competitive fixture in their history may, on the face of it, look like a pointless exercise, but Lescott thinks the comprehensive win has boosted confidence ahead of tomorrow’s game, which England must win to leapfrog Montenegro in to top spot.

“Montenegro are a very organised team. They are tough to break down, but we are confident,” Lescott said.

“Winning breeds confidence. No disrespect to San Marino, but we played well against them and we will hope to do the same on Tuesday.

“When we came away our aim was six points and that is still our main focus. Ukraine beating Poland on Friday was a good result for us.

“If we win on Tuesday that would give us a good run into the second half of the qualifying campaign.”