Irish Daily MirrorMONDAY 25.03.201350 sport DMEEIR

match fit. If he can avoid the self-destruct button, though, there is no reason why he should not continue to be England’s most important player.

That is partly what has cost him in the past. That and simple bad luck. Injury ruined his 2006 World Cup and probably contributed to his lethargy in 2010, too.

But the repeated criticism that he has never quite lived up to the stellar beginning to his career at Euro 2004 doesn’t stack up.

He has scored 34 goals for his country now and if he stays clear of the injuries that blighted Owen’s career, he will surely break Sir Bobby Charlton’s England scoring record.

He has won the Champions League with United and played in three finals. He has got four

discipline. The images of what happened the last time he played here still linger.

The ball bouncing off him as he tries to control a pass near the halfway line.

Miodrag Dzudovic taking possession, Rooney hustling him and tugging at him.

Rooney losing his temper and giving Dzudovic a hefty kick to the back of the leg.

Dzudovic going down. Rooney knowing immediately what’s coming. The referee getting out his red card.

That dismissal earned Rooney a two-match ban and he missed England’s opening games at Euro 2012.

When he did finally appear at the tournament, after an ill-judged summer holiday in Las Vegas, he never seemed properly

Montenegro, the tie that holds the key to England’s qualification for next year’s World Cup, comes at a critical time in Rooney’s career. It is a match where he can prove that he can continue to thrive, not fade away.

And if he can help lead the

team to a positive result, it is a match that can enable him to start dreaming about making a major impact at the tournament in Brazil.

First of all, he needs to keep his

here tomorrow night for England’s crunch World Cup qualifier with Montenegro.

He is 27 years old, entering what should be the prime of his career, and yet doubts swirl around him.

He has been supplanted by Robin van Persie as the golden one at Manchester United. And Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to drop him for the game against Real Madrid earlier this month was not as big a shock as it once might have been.

It followed rumours that Ferguson has lost patience with Rooney and is considering selling him at the end of the season.

Owen’s career was cut short by his brittle body. Rooney is an ox of a man but his fragility lies in his temperament.

S o t h e m at c h a g a i n s t

Maybe it’s because what happened to Michael Owen is fresh in our minds.

Maybe it’s because we saw him burn so brightly and then fade away.

Maybe it’s because some harbour a nagging fear that it’s happening again.

Maybe it’s because there’s a worry that history is about to repeat itself in the form of Wayne Rooney.

Whatever the reasons, Rooney will stand at a crossroads when he walks out at the City Stadium

group h table P W D L F A PtsMontenegro . . 5 4 1 0 13 2 13England . . . . . . 5 3 2 0 20 2 11Ukraine . . . . . . 4 1 2 1 4 3 5Poland . . . . . . . 4 1 2 1 6 6 5Moldova . . . . . 5 1 1 3 2 8 4San Marino . . . 5 0 0 5 0 24 0

olIVer holtChief sports Writerreports from podgoricao.holt@trinitymirror.com

Rooney stands at a

crossroads. He is 27

years old, entering

what should be the prime

of his career and yet

doubts swirl around him

MoNteNegro v eNglaND

It’s time for Rooney to shIne like 2004.. not lose his head and fade away

KeePING HIS FOCUS England defender Joleon Lescott

knowing him I don’t think he will let that faze him in any way .

“He’s a top professional and he believes in his own ability more than anyone so I’m sure going into the game he won’t be with a point to prove but he’ll be just determined to win the game for us .

“We’re all old enough to realise there will be issues, they’ll try to wind us up, waste time and stuff like that if need be but I like to think we’re all mature enough to deal with that .”

Rooney got his marching orders for lashing out in retaliation at defender Miodrag Dzudovic, who is expected to be on the bench tomorrow night .

Dzudovic offered to speak up for Rooney at his UEFA hearing but that is unlikely to dissuade Montenegro from trying to get at England in what has become the key meeting in Group H .

Lescott added: “Maybe when he was a bit younger, he had a bit more of a temper . But he’s older, more mature and experienced in every situation .”

England boss Roy Hodgson also backed Rooney not to react under any provocation and says the striker is putting his energies into scoring .

Hodgson added: “He’s scoring goals, isn’t he? There’s no reason for his confidence to be fragile .

"He’s played so many games, he’s so experienced, I’m sure he’s capable of writing off the incident . I’d like to think he’d forget all about it .”

pay back tIme foR wInd-upsWAYNE ROONEY is ready to unleash a World Cup “backlash” on Montenegro tomorrow .

The England striker was sent off and banned for the first two games of Euro 2012 after losing his temper in a qualifier in Montenegro two years ago .

Rooney’s England team-mate Joleon Lescott accepts Montenegro may try to use dirty tricks to wind him up again – but the Manchester United striker will end up having the last laugh .

Lescott said: “The backlash could be just that – it could enhance his performance . On his day, Wayne is one of the best in the world so I doubt t h e y ’ l l t r y t o e n h a n c e h i s performance .

“They might play on his temperament but Wayne has matured now . He is older and more experienced and I am sure he will be professional enough to deal with anything they throw at him .

“I don’t think anyone will be fazed by what they have to face . There will be a lot of expectation on Wayne but

s

taLIsman to neaRLy man.. wayne at the cRossRoads

By JOHN CROSS

Irish Daily MirrorMONDAY 25.03.2013 7

DMEEIR

Crime

Dad’s court advice to Nicola killer

By SCOTT CARROLLNICOLA Furlong’s killer Richard Hinds was told by his father, “Make yourself better” as he was led away to prison.

L a s t we e k , h e w a s sentenced to five to 10 years for the murder of the 21-year-old Wexford student in a Tokyo hotel room.

Yesterday Hinds’ parents b r i e f l y s p o k e t o t h e congregation of Olivet Fellowship Baptist Church in Memphis, making their first public comments on their son’s trial and conviction in the May 24 killing.

His father told worshippers his son could have faced life in prison or the death penalty if he wasn’t a minor under Japanese law and said the family is grateful for the sentence Hinds’ received.

He told the church: “It’s equivalent of going to college four years. It’s the equivalent of being in the military for four years.

“It’s the equivalent of going off and making yourself better for four years.”

SENTENCED J Richard Hinds

COUrT

Jill trial’s a week after anniversary

By MIRROR REPORTERTHE trial of the Australian man accused of raping and murdering Jill Meagher will start a week after the anni-versary of her death.

Adrian Ernest Bayley, 41, appeared in the Supreme Court in Melbourne via video-link from prison.

It was his first appearance since being ordered to stand trial earlier this month for the murder of Jill, from Drogheda, Co Louth, on September 22 last year.

He has pleaded not guilty to the murder and not guilty to two charges of raping the 29-year-old radio worker.

He has pleaded guilty to one charge of raping her in a Brunswick laneway.

Defence lawyer Saul Holt, SC, affirmed in court that his client was pleading not guilty to murder and not guilty to two charges of rape.

Justice Geoffrey Nettle made a number of directions for the conduct of the trial, which he set for September 30.

VICTIM J Jill Meagher

Cowell: I’ll have bigger part to play in X FactorSIMon Cowell will have a more hands-on role on The X Factor as he considers the show to be his “baby”.

The star quit the panel to work on his US version of the programme and has not been a judge for two years but promised he would return. Last year’s series

– won by James Arthur – saw a slump in viewers and bosses have been looking at ways to rekindle interest.

Cowell told Hello! magazine: “I’m definitely getting more involved. I’m not going to lie – I do miss doing it, because it’s, like, my baby. So at some point of

course I’m going to come back.” He returns to screens next month with a new series of Britain’s Got Talent.

Cowell was speaking at an event for children’s charity Shooting Star CHASE at the Dorchester Hotel in London attended by the Duchess of York, JLS, Phillip

Schofield, Peter Andre and X Factor star Jahmene Douglas.

He said preparing to attend the event had led to some emotional tweets.

He said: “I was thinking I had a lot to be thankful for. Even if I didn’t have what I have materi-ally, I haven’t got a sick child.” RETuRNING J Simon Cowell

Pits of laughter

RED BULLFIGHTSEE PAGES 46&47

NICOLE Scherzinger laughs as racing driver boyfriend Lewis Hamilton makes a fuel-ish blunder during a Grand Prix.

Lewis, 28, joined Mercedes recently but drove into his old team McLaren’s pit stop – surprising mechanics who waved him on.

X Factor judge Nicole, 34, was trackside at the Malaysian Grand Prix and laughed with delight as she watched on a mobile phone.

Lewis later apologised for the blunder and said: “I don’t know how that happened. The teams look so similar. I have been stopping in that pit box for years. It’s an easy mistake to make and hopefully one I won’t make again.”

The mistake is thought to have cost the F1 ace five seconds and he came third behind Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in Sepang.

Referring to a similar incident in 2011 when fellow

Brit Jenson Button pulled into Red Bull’s garage while driving for McLaren at the Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis added: “I did a Jenson. For years I was

used to driving into McLaren’s pit

stop.”Lewis, the 2008 cham-

pion, switched to Mercedes before the start of this year’s F1 season after 15 years as a McLaren driver.

McLaren said on its official Twitter account: “Smiles in the garage after a well-worked double pitstop with an unexpected twist. Feel free to pop in and say ‘hi’ any time, @Lewis Hamilton!”

SCHERZY AMUSED AS LEWIS FORGETS HIS TEAM

It was an easy mistake to make.. The two teams just look

so similar LEwIS hAMILTON

RELAXED 3 Before race

BRAKING NEwS J McLaren team, top, point Lewis to correct pit, below

ON TRACK J Nicole and phone

LAuGh LAP J Singer’s reaction

BY JOSh LAYTON mirrornews@mirror.co.uk