Rooney blazing trail - Hurst

Sir Geoff Hurst cast his eyes over the latest Wayne Rooney wannabes in Nottingham today and said the Everton prodigy was blazing an inspirational trail for the next generation of Premiership stars.

World Cup hat-trick hero Hurst believes Rooney’s talent and desire ought to form the benchmark against which all ambitious youngsters can measure their progress.

And he insisted that expert handling by his club and country chiefs had ensured that 17-year-old Rooney’s baptism in the international big-time had not come a moment too soon.

Hurst is spearheading an ambitious drive by the Football Association and McDonald’s to fund the training and deployment of 8,000 new community-based, FA-qualified coaches over the next four years.

Hurst, McDonald’s Director of Football, inaugurated the first 15 graduates on the opening stop on the National Football Tour today. Nottingham itself will see 180 qualified coaches come through the scheme within the next four years.

Hurst insists such schemes which concentrate on five to 11-year-olds are vital if the British game is to roll more Rooneys off its production line.

Hurst said: “Wayne Rooney is the most exciting young talent we’ve seen in years and his emergence is hugely exciting to both youngsters and people like myself who have been right through the game.

“Wayne has proved that one of the key factors is to have the desire. If you have the talent and you have that competitive nature to be the best in anything then that coupled with some expert coaching can take you to the top.

“The kids have something to aim at when they see a 17-year-old in an England shirt. When they’re young they can’t relate so easily to a 25 or 35 year old - they see someone like Rooney coming through so quickly and they think ‘I can do that too’.”

Hurst insists that while there are obvious obstacles standing in the way of young players at the top level, Rooney’s elevation did not come a moment too soon.

“Wayne has matured and is physically strong but I genuinely feel he was ready.

“Ever since he scored that goal against Arsenal it has been madness but that is part and parcel of the game he is in.

“Each case is an individual one and there are many potential pit-falls, but I think we could see two years ago that Wayne was going to be ready.”

New Rooneys would be a bonus for the McDonald’s scheme which Hurst is keen to stress is fundamentally about securing youngsters playing time in a safe and fun environment.

Hurst said: “There is an undoubted need for more qualified coaches at grass-roots level who can get kids back to the basics and give them time on the ball.

“When I was a kid we used to play small-sided games in the street and that is essentially what this also is about – being able to give kids that time on the ball again.

“I am still hearing stories about teachers taking kids out onto sports fields and being more concerned with the physical aspects.”

Hurst is joined in the scheme by British National Football Coach Eric Harrison, who as Manchester United’s youth team boss was responsible for the emergence of players like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Nick Butt.

Hurst added: “Working with someone like Eric Harrison can only help the young kids and they get plenty of rest and drink and are not run into the ground.

“We do want to see more Wayne Rooneys in the game but this scheme is much wider than that. We want it to be primarily accessed just to give more kids more time to play football.”