Stones: Rooney always brilliant while playing for England
John Stones is the latest England representative to pledge his support for Wayne Rooney, saying the national team skipper is consistently "brilliant" on the international stage.
Jordan Henderson had already claimed that Rooney's a "fantastic player," after a portion of the 81,000 who attended the Three Lions' underwhelming 2-0 defeat of Malta on Saturday jeered the skipper's travails in midfield.
Although deployed as a forward for the majority of his career, the Scouser has been slotted deeper in the wake of his reduced potency in front of goal, and the emergence of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, and Daniel Sturridge in the England attack. Judging by the treatment coming from his own fans, though, it doesn't appear to be going well for the Manchester United man.
"I thought Wayne was brilliant. He has been every time he has played for England," insisted Stones, 22, who plies his trade with archrival Manchester City.
With 53 goals, Rooney is his country's all-time leading scorer and has captained the squad since Steven Gerrard retired from the international game after the 2014 World Cup. But with just one goal in 12 appearances this season, and one strike in his last seven national team showings, Rooney has faced calls to give way for a more in-form compatriot.
"He wears his heart on his sleeve and gives 110 percent and you can see that in every performance," Stones continued. "I am a bit shocked that the booing happened.
"He is always up there and on form. The top players are always going to get the stick that gets piled on them because of the standards he sets."
While England's World Cup qualification campaign doesn't appear to include the most enthralling set of ties, Tuesday's trip to Slovenia will garner greater media attention due to the doubts around Rooney's starting credentials. Latest reports have suggested the 30-year-old will be named on the bench for the clash.
Related - Report: Rooney dropped for England's qualifier in Slovenia
Interim manager Gareth Southgate has shown support for Rooney since succeeding the disgraced Sam Allardyce at the end of last month, but insists he has the bravery to make such calls - as shown while he managed Middlesbrough between 2006-09.
"Making some really close friends redundant," Southgate said of his most ballsy moves in management, which included sacking colleagues following Middlesbrough's relegation from the Premier League. "That's probably as big as you can get."