MANCHESTER United striker Wayne Rooney has voiced his sadness at the news of Fabio Capello’s withdrawal from his position as England manager, but wasted no time in giving his support to Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp. The Italian met with FA chiefs on Wednesday to discuss comments he made on a radio station in his native country. In those comments, Capello opposed the decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy following the date of the defender’s trial, regarding the alleged racial abuse of QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, being pushed back until after Euro 2012.
England striker Rooney insists that, while he is “gutted” that Capello has stood down, he wants Spurs boss Redknapp to step in and take over as Three Lions manager.
Rooney’s Tweet read: “Gutted Capello has quit. Good guy and top coach. Got to be English to replace him. Harry Redknapp for me.”
The Spurs boss is the strong favourite to succeed Capello after an impressive three-and-a-half years at White Hart Lane, taking the club from the bottom of the Premier League and into the Champions League quarterfinals.
Rooney was handed the captain’s armband for the first time by the departed Italian, as he led England out onto the Khalifa International Stadium turf in Qatar in a 1-0 loss to Brazil on November 14, 2009. (Goal.com)