TOM CLEVERLEY has been on the receiving end of more than one ear-bashing from Wayne Rooney.
But far from turning Cleverley into a quivering wreck, it inspires him.
Rooney, 26, skippered England to a 5-0 victory over San Marino on Friday and confessed last week to being a real Red Devil when he has the armband on.
He likes to dish out Roo-llockings in the style of Manchester United legend Roy Keane.
There could be plenty more to come now that England boss Roy Hodgson has officially appointed the United striker as captain-in-waiting behind Steven Gerrard.
And Cleverley, 23, knows more than most what it is like to get it in the neck from the man nicknamed Wazza. He experiences it on a regular basis at United’s Carrington training ground.
Midfielder Cleverley said: “When you want to win so badly you’ll do anything and if people need telling Wazza’s not afraid to do that, even in training. If I’m on his team and we’re not winning he’ll let me know.But I’m quite good at taking criticism — if it’s constructive.
“If someone like Wayne Rooney is giving you good advice — or shouting good advice at you — I will take it on board.
“He was quite vocal in the dressing room before the San Marino game, chipping in with points to improve the team.
“He has all the attributes to be a top-class captain. He is a leader, he is a winner and I like playing under him as a captain.
“I certainly agree with the manager when he says he can be captain in the long-term.
“For quite a young guy Wayne has had a lot of experience that me, Danny Welbeck and all the young players in the squad can tap into.”
Cleverley is blessed with so many experienced players around him at United that he can seek out help in all corners of the changing room.
He said: “We’re lucky to have a lot like Giggsy, Scholesy and Rio.
“These are players we can model ourselves on and hopefully have the careers they have had.”
Both Cleverley and his pal Welbeck — who scored twice against San Marino — have come through the ranks at United and they are making their way on the international scene together.
Cleverley added: “I’ve been at the club since I was 11 and Danny’s been there since he was nine — so we’ve built up a relationship over the years, on and off the pitch.
“His movement, which he’s always working on, is good, his touch, his finishing, pace, and power. He’s got everything to be a top-class striker.
“We’ve got a great strike force for England and Welbs is part of that.”
While there are plenty of United players to look up to, Cleverley also counts Chelsea veteran Frank Lampard among his idols.
Lamps will miss out on the game in Poland tomorrow through injury and may be in the final throes of an England career which began in the last century and has produced 26 goals in 93 games.
But Cleverley recognises the Blues star as the man to follow to become the complete midfield all-rounder.
The United starlet has started to find the net recently with a couple against Newcastle in the Capital One Cup and the Premier League, the latter a stunning 30-yard curler.
He has yet to get his first England goal though and has been guilty of missing good chances.
He said: “When you think of goal-scoring midfielders, Frank Lampard is one of the first names that pops in your head. I have managed to score goals on all my loan spells, so it was playing on my mind a little bit that I had not been scoring.
“For a midfielder you need a lot of things to be a top-class player and scoring goals is one of them.
“I started off this season getting into the positions for United and England and just not having that final finish — sometimes not composing myself and a bit of bad luck as well.
“But the first one went in and the second one quickly followed and hopefully I can kick off my international goals tally on Tuesday as well, if I play.”
Cleverley has come in for criticism for launching his own TC23 clothing range without having had the career to justify it.
But he insisted: “That wasn’t right, it was something I was doing for charity. It does annoy me a bit when people say I’m getting ahead of myself.
“I have my feet on the floor and I’ve always tried to stay grounded. I got a day off on Saturday and just went back to my mum’s in Bradford.
“Every morning I wake up and think how lucky I am to be playing for the team which all my boyhood heroes played for and for my country. I’m really proud of that.”
Source: The Sun
