England ace Wayne Rooney given permission by Sam Allardyce to play ‘wherever he wants to’ after Slovakia win

SAM ALLARDYCE claims Wayne Rooney can play ‘wherever he wants to’ after claiming a win in his first game as England boss.

Liverpool ace Adam Lallana struck a late goal to clinch all three points against Slovakia, but fans and pundits were left bemused by Rooney’s apparent deployment as a holding midfielder.

The Manchester United skipper dropped even deeper than Tottenham maestro Eric Dier at times, leading his team out from the back despite the presence of Manchester City’s ball-playing defender John Stones.

But Allardyce has given Rooney permission to roam the field as the Three Lions look ahead to World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia in October, saying: “He can play wherever he wants to be, because he was brilliant.

“I can’t stop Wayne if he thinks that’s the right place to be. We aren’t going to make a big deal about it are we?

“The heat was stifling here today. We had to use all three subs. The win was absolutely outstanding.”

England found life tough against Slovakia’s defence for most of the game – despite the hosts seeing Martin Skrtel sent off – but Allardyce insists his men deserve to return home with the win.

He added: “It was nerve-racking towards the end. The ten-man scenario means you must win.

“Finally we got what we deserved. One goal in the last minute and maybe their goalkeeper shouldn’t have stayed down for so long.”