England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that he will speak to Wayne...

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that he will speak to Wayne Rooney and the whole of his squad about the importance of keeping their collective calm against Slovakia on Wednesday..

Rooney was clearly fired-up for last Tuesday's match against Serbia and Montenegro and, although the Everton youngster put in another dazzling performance, he'll need to make sure that he doesn't overstep the limit in Wednesday's crucial match-up at the Riverside.

"I normally talk about that before every game, especially a qualifying game, as it's very important that we have 11 players on the pitch for the 90 minutes," agreed Sven.

"Every time you don't have that, you have a big handicap. I might talk to Wayne Rooney about it as well. Everyone has a different character and temperament. It's the same with football players.

"You can never say that two are exactly the same. Some have very short fuses and others never get angry."

Pausing to clench his fist to indicate Rooney's competitive streak, Eriksson added: "He is one of those, I don't know why, but you have to accept the character of the boy or the man."

"He doesn't have any fear to go out and play. Whether it's a local game or an international game, I don't think that matters to him. He seems to be very strong in that way," he said.

"The way he plays is very mature and he is a great talent. When you give Paul Scholes the ball, things happen. The same is true about Rooney. He is clever, can see things and is a good finisher.”

Having started with Emile and then brought on Wayne in the last game, Sven now faces a selection poser as to who should partner Michael on Wednesday.

"Rooney and Heskey have quite different qualities. Heskey is strong, even stronger than Rooney, and is a better header.

"But Rooney can play up front on his own but is very good when he drops a little and can turn, play in people, dribble or take a shot.

"Off the pitch, I can't say that I know him very well. He's not one of the most talkative people I have ever met but you have to respect that.

"But he always seems to be happy, has a nice smile and gets on well with the other players from Liverpool."