International friendly: England manager Roy Hodgson delighted with 3-1 victory in Scotland
Wednesday 19 November 2014 07:40, UK
England manager Roy Hodgson highlighted the unity in the squad after a solid 3-1 victory over Scotland at Celtic Park.
Wayne Rooney contributed two goals to move within four goals of becoming England's all-time leading goalscorer and while Hodgson was quick to praise the Manchester United striker's leadership, he emphasised the culture of togetherness throughout the squad.
He told Sky Sports when asked of Rooney's importance: "It is important because we are such a young team and he's one of the few elder players. I thought young Chris Smalling had an excellent game and was well supported first by Gary Cahill and then by Phil Jagielka. I thought James Milner was really good in the midfield too.
"I think we are getting into a situation where the younger ones who don't have so many caps do get a lot of help from the people around them and Wayne Rooney has got to be delighted with his few days from Saturday to now - first he picks up his cap and a goal and today he's scored two in a game where we've beaten Scotland away.
"It was certainly a good performance and there are many young players. We were talking a lot about the atmosphere and the support Scotland get here and how it's a little bit different to many of the games you play.
"I thought we handled it well. I thought our fans were magnificent throughout because without being able to shout down the 50,000-odd that outnumbered them, they certainly gave a good account of themselves and towards the end of the game I was very aware of their presence."
On the contribution of midfielder Jack Wilshere, whose exquisite diagonal pass allowed Arsenal team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to head the opening goal just after half an hour, Hodgson added: "I think Jack can grow into many roles.
"If we wanted to play Jack further forward in the left or right position, I think he'd do very well for us there too. Jack's stepped up to the plate really well and has to be delighted with his autumn. I'm hoping he'll carry that forward not just for us but for his club as well."
