“Whether he’s English or not we’ll wait and see. He needs to put his stamp on the team, whoever he is.”
The Three Lions striker admits he would prefer Roy Hodgson’s successor to be English and believes he will have a good squad to build on for the future
Wayne Rooney says England‘s new manager does not have to be English, though admits it would be preferable if he were.
Roy Hodgson resigned on Monday following England‘s elimination from Euro 2016 at the hands of Iceland, and speculation is mounting that Gareth Southgate, currently in charge of the nation’s under-21 team, is set to take on the role.
And while the England captain believes an English manager is preferable, he insists the nationality of the new boss does not matter.
“Of course it’s better if he’s English, but he has to be the right man for the job. He has to have the credentials and the ability to be able to do the job,” Rooney said.
“Whether he’s English or not we’ll wait and see.
“He needs to put his stamp on the team, whoever he is.”
Whoever gets the nod, Rooney feels they should be excited about the prospect of leading the Three Lions.
“I know one thing – if I was the manager coming in, I’d be very excited. It’s difficult to see now, but we do have a good squad, an exciting squad,”he said.
“Whoever comes in will have a tough job, but have the players to move us on from where we are and take us one step further.
“I’ve always tried to give honest answers to the questions I’m asked and we’ve never played with any fear. We’ve never played with any fear in this tournament as we have in the past.
“We just haven’t been clinical enough [at the Euros], and it’s cost us.”
