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Wayne Rooney has said he put in extra work with England's backup players on Monday as he stepped up preparations for Thursday's crucial clash with Uruguay. - Neville: Rooney a very important player
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- Toe Poke: The worst ever WC corner? At the weekend, Rooney admitted he was fighting for his place in England's starting XI after enduring a frustrating night as he was played out of position on the left in the opening 2-1 defeat to Italy. The Manchester United player set up Daniel Sturridge for England's equaliser against Italy with a superb cross, but otherwise failed to make an impact. He put in extra training, including shooting practice, on Monday, and hit back at suggestions that any more could be read into it. "Sometimes wonder what the press are getting at,'' he posted on his Facebook page. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); "I said from the start I want to do everything I can to make sure I'm ready for these World Cup games, and as part of that I was doing extra training a week before the squad joined up. "That's exactly what I did yesterday, my own extra training, because that's what I wanted to do.'' Rooney has been backed by teammate Danny Welbeck, who said he should not be dropped. He insisted that the Manchester United forward, who has scored 39 goals for his country, was "a class player" and added: "I think that, wherever he is playing on the pitch, he can make a massive impact. "I think all the forward players with England have the flexibility to move in and round, interchange positions."
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