Sam Allardyce sidesteps an awkward question about Wayne Rooney

The elephant in the room.

Few, if any, England players escaped with any credit from the side's 2-1 loss to Iceland in the last-16 of Euro 2016, but Wayne Rooney was particularly poor. The England captain failed to control simple passes, let an Iceland player run off him for the team's equaliser and lumbered around midfield without making any telling passes. His role in the team being built for the World Cup in two years, looks to be the first big question new England manager Sam Allardyce will have to address. However, Big Sam Allardyce wouldn't be drawn on whether Rooney would remain as England captain. The new England boss, at his opening press conference in the role, was non-committal on the future of the 30-year-old in the team, and said it was "far too early" to say who would be the captain going into the World Cup qualifiers. "I'm going to leave that until I meet all the players and get all the staff together," Allardyce said. The 61-year-old was also asked the inevitable question about his style of play, and dismissed suggestions he's a long-ball merchant. Big Sam preferred to call himself "pragmatic."

"I think that choosing styles or systems depends on the players available and then who we’re playing. My coaching technique is to try and give the players the opportunity to win a football match wherever they are playing, be it home or away. And to make them aware of the opposition, which may change the style of how we play."

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