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International news: England captain Wayne Rooney full of praise for manager Roy Hodgson

England striker Wayne Rooney and manager Roy Hodgson at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland
Image: Wayne Rooney: Happy with England's progress under Roy Hodgson

Wayne Rooney has praised Roy Hodgson for the way he has galvanised England since their World Cup debacle.

England failed to win any of their three games in Brazil over the summer but their form since the start of the European Qualifiers has been far more positive.

Hodgson's men have won their first four qualifying contests for the 2016 tournament in France and they made it six victories on the bounce in all matches with a 3-1 friendly win over old rivals Scotland at Celtic Park on Tuesday.

"After the World Cup Roy was under pressure, of course. We all were," England captain Rooney said.

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"And he's done fantastically in how he's getting us to progress as a team. He's using all his experience which is great for us as players.

"We used a different system against Scotland to what we have in previous games, he's making us do the right things at right times in games, which is certainly benefiting us as a team.

"We expected to win. We know we are the better team, we know had to work to get the victory.

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"Sometimes when results don't go the way we want, people see it as though we are not working and don't want to play for the country, but it's far from the truth.

"The World Cup was a bad experience for us all and since that we've carried on the progression and the young lads have been brilliant.

"They've stepped up. I think if we can keep working on what we want to do I'm sure we will get better."

Rooney scored two of England's goals at Celtic Park, celebrating the second of them with a cartwheel which came at the specific request of his five-year-old son Kai.

"That was for my son. He's been doing them quite a lot so he wanted me to do one," Rooney added.

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