Wayne Rooney believes Steven Gerrard should have been honoured with the England captaincy much earlier in his international career.
Gerrard is set to lead his country for the 32nd time in tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley.
It puts him seventh in the all-time list of England captains, just two behind John Terry, whom he played under for so long.
The 33-year-old Gerrard will never get close to the record, jointly-held by Bobby Moore and Billy Wright, who each did the prestigious job on 90 occasions, or even to David Beckham, named skipper 59 times.
Yet Rooney feels Gerrard’s total pays scant regard to his abilities as a leader, which he is convinced should have been recognised on a permanent basis far earlier than the weeks prior to Euro 2012.
Rooney said: “Steven has been one of the best in the world over the last 15 years. We look to him to give us that drive.
“I think he got the captain’s armband a bit later than he should have. He should have been named captain earlier. He is our leader and is going to be a really important player for us.”
Rooney believes Gerrard’s influence will be equally significant off the field. Roy Hodgson’s squad contains a large number of younger players, who could easily be overwhelmed at the task facing them, namely collecting victories against Montenegro – something England have not managed in three previous encounters – and Poland to secure a place at next summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil.
“We will need the experienced players,” said Rooney. “Obviously there are more younger players in the squad than there has ever been. The experienced players have been there and done it. They can keep that calmness for us.”
Montenegro captain Mirko Vucinic, goalkeeper Mladen Bozovic, centre back Marko Basa and midfielder Miodrag Pekovic have all been ruled out, while England’s only significant absentees are Ashley Cole, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
It means Hodgson is choosing from strength, particularly in the striking department, where Rooney and Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge in particular have enjoyed stellar starts to the campaign.
“It is great,” said Rooney. “It is probably the best group we have had since I have been in the squad.
“Rickie Lambert is scoring goals for Southampton and has done really well for England. Jermain Defoe and I have been around a bit longer and Sturridge and Danny Welbeck bring a lot of energy. Overall, it is a really good blend.”
Rooney and Sturridge have only had half-an-hour together, against the Republic of Ireland in May, but their recent form suggests they must be given a chance to dismantle what is expected to be a very dogged Montenegro defensive effort.