Thursday 6 October 2016 13:43, UK
Peter Shilton says his England caps record is safe unless Wayne Rooney reverts to the "street-fighting" striker of old.
Rooney is nine appearances short of Shilton's 125 and will break the record on October 5 next year if he plays in every England game between now and then.
But the captain has just one goal this season, cannot currently get in the Manchester United side and has dropped into a deeper role for his country following the emergence of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge.
And that all amounts to trouble for Rooney, according to ex-goalkeeper Shilton, who told Sky Sports News HQ: "I hope he gets back and he starts scoring goals, but he's got to play as a striker.
"If he does that, he'll retain his international place, if he doesn't he won't break my record.
"I've always been a massive Wayne Rooney fan - he's always been a street fighter giving 100 per cent, he'd get in the box and score goals and I always rated him very highly.
"If he plays the way we know Wayne Rooney plays and he surpasses my record I'll be the first one to shake his hand and pat him on the back. For a striker, that's fantastic.
"In the Euros he's captain, and we lost to Iceland, I didn't see him in the game, I didn't see any leadership. I've not seen the Wayne Rooney I know for a year."
"But I don't think he has done that in the last year or so. In the Euros, he's captain, and we lost to Iceland, I didn't see him in the game, I didn't see any leadership. I've not seen the Wayne Rooney I know for a year.
"He now wants to play in midfield - if he was a midfield player he would have played there.
"He says he wants to retire after the next World Cup - to me that's his management company putting a lot of propaganda out. It's about what he does on the pitch."
Shilton's assessment of Joe Hart is no less blunt, and England's most-celebrated No 1 believes the current keeper has a fight on his hands to keep the jersey after his Euro 2016 mistakes against Wales and Iceland.
Hart has since left Manchester City for Torino in search of first-team football, and Shilton said: "People say 'do you feel sorry for him leaving City?' No. He's a professional. One manager has his opinions, and you go and prove him wrong.
"I said before the Euros I didn't think Joe Hart was as good as a lot of people thought. He's a good goallkeeper. I feel he makes a few too many errors, but he's had some excellent games and was a logical choice for the Euros.
"Two mistakes in three games is not good, so i feel he's come back now to Jack Butland and Fraser Forster who have had injuries themselves. It's up in the air but I don't think he's an automatic choice."
