15 December 2005
Gary Neville Exclusive
TheFA.com's Dan Freedman talks to Gary Neville and we recall an interview with Wayne Rooney from last year. Click the links to watch.

Gary Neville wishes he had the same skills as England wonderkid Wayne Rooney.

England's right-back, who recently recovered from a groin injury, watched Rooney destroy Wigan on Wednesday night and was gushing with praise for the young star in an exclusive interview with TheFA.com.

"He has tremendous ability - I wish I had as much ability," said an admiring Neville. "Nothing phases him and he just likes to go and play football."

Rooney announced his arrival on the world stage in Euro 2004 with some stunning performances for England, most notably against Croatia, and has been tipped to top that for the Three Lions in the World Cup.

Neville believes the Liverpool-born striker has the talent and level head to live up to the hype.

"Off the pitch, you have to protect him at times because he is a young player. And it's not just Wayne Rooney, it's all the young players. The senior players, the coaches and the rest of the management have a duty to protect them.

"There is a massive focus on you and especially with the young players and it's up to the rest of us to protect them.

"But there's not too much pressure on him. In a sense he's been given the platform to perform and he has been protected by the manager of his club and the national coach," said Neville.

Neville admitted that while he does everything he can to protect Rooney off the pitch, he says the striker can hold his own once the action kicks-off.

"I don't try and protect him on the pitch because you have to let him get on with it because the thing that excites everybody is the way he plays his football," he said.

But the admiration is not just one way, as Rooney looks up to both the Neville brothers for their approach to the game.

He told TheFA.com in an interview last year that the pair are role models.

"It's nice when your mates are saying that sort of thing about the future," he said.

"You have to take it all in and learn from the senior players. There are a lot of people around who want to help you out. Gary and Phil Neville are probably the perfect professionals. They eat all the right food and do the right training - they do everything right."