Pallister expects rampant Rooney

Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Pallister has backed Wayne Rooney to make up for lost time at Euro 2012.

Rooney is ready to make his tournament bow in England’s final match of Group D against co-hosts Ukraine on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old was suspended for the first two matches of the European Championships but Pallister is certain he will now make an immediate impact.

“So far he has been kicking his heels in the stands and knowing the type of kid that he is, Wayne will be really eager to get back into the fray and watching his team in action will have only served to have whetted his appetite,” Pallister told Goal.com.

“The break will have probably helped Wayne. He will be fresh and he will be keen. Now it is just a matter of Roy Hodgson unleashing the beast against Ukraine.

“Wayne is a world class player and when he is at his very best he is certainly right up there with the top players in world football. He is the one player that England fans will get really excited about when he is in the side.

“There is so much expected of him when he is playing but that won’t bother him. I feel as though he owes his team-mates and maybe the England fans a big game because of the ban.

“There was a big debate about whether he should go out or whether he shouldn’t and I think he will want to prove to everybody that he deserved to be in the squad and I bet we will get a big performance out of him.”

Pallister believes Rooney should be partnered in attack by Manchester United colleague Danny Welbeck rather than Liverpool striker Andy Carroll.

“I think that Wayne should link up with Danny Welbeck,” Pallister said.

“Andy did okay in the game against Sweden but Danny and Wayne know each other really well and they have linked up well this season and it will suit them both if they play alongside each other.

“I think that Roy will go with Welbeck because he is more of a threat than Andy and he is more of a natural goal-scorer than Carroll so I expect that is the way he will go.”