Struggling Rooney a worry now

England [Images] coach Steve McClaren is counting on Wayne Rooney's [Images] strength of character to pull the striker out of a worrying loss of form.

With a tough Euro 2008 [Images] qualifier on Wednesday in Croatia after Saturday's insipid 0-0 draw with Macedonia, McClaren could do with Rooney finally showing his true abilities in an England shirt.

Asked if he was concerned about the 20-year-old's recent dip, McClaren told reporters: "Well, obviously. But he's a great player... and nobody is more frustrated than Wayne Rooney.

"He is below his usual performances. Everyone can see that. But Wayne's got the resilience and the character that we have to show as a team."

Widely regarded as England's most exciting talent in more than a decade, Rooney has had a fairly miserable six months since suffering a broken foot on Manchester United [Images] duty just before the World Cup.

He struggled on his return to the England team in Germany [Images], got sent off in their quarter-final exit to Portugal and was red-carded in a pre-season friendly with United.

Though he has now served the suspensions for club and country, his performances for both have lacked their previous menace in front of goal and he was substituted on Saturday.

Asked why he had replaced him with Jermain Defoe after 74 minutes, McClaren kept his inner thoughts to himself.

"I was just trying to win a football match," he said. "Jermain Defoe has scored goals for us and did well in Macedonia. We just needed a fresh impetus.

Wednesday's Group E game in Zagreb will be a fresh test for Rooney, without a competitive goal for England in over two years, and for a side who clearly struggled at Old Trafford.

Looking back on the team display, McClaren said: "I expect a better performance than that.

"I've always said if you win your home games and get a point away against the better teams, then you'll qualify.

"We've got four points from Macedonia and they've shown that they're not a bad side.

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