England striker coaches youngsters at Swiss centre of excellence

Wayne Rooney spent a day coaching at a regional centre of excellence in Switzerland as part of his successful appeal following his dismissal against Montenegro.

The England striker was given a three match suspension after being shown a red card in the final Euro 2012 qualifier.

But that was reduced to two games on appeal and a period of community service was added to the sanction.

Rooney, 27, travelled to the centre de formation de L'ASF in Payerne near Berne on Monday and spent the day with a group of 14 to 16-year-olds.

The Manchester United hero’s morning visit surprised the teenagers before they took to the pitch for a session specifically focused on shooting and finishing.

Rooney then had lunch with the players and then took part in a question and answer session with them which saw him quizzed about his career.

He also gave them useful advice on how they could improve as players and drew on the wealth of experience he has gained during his ten-year professional career.

In the afternoon Rooney took them through a second session which was based around match situations. It saw the participants put the finishing lessons they learned in the morning into practice.

At the end of that drill, he then challenged the players to hit the crossbar from the edge of the area to win his boots.

Four players managed the feat but only one could repeat it to scoop the unique prize, which was signed by the United hitman.

Speaking at the event, Rooney said: "It was great to work with the kids, they were fantastic and have great ability. It's obviously something different for me but I enjoyed it.

"It was a long time ago that I was in their position but I remember being young and trying to become a professional footballer, going to training in similar facilities to what we have here.

“It's something all footballers go through what these kids are doing here."