Thursday, June 29 2006 14:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Buhlertal: Wayne Rooney is feeling no pressure from the weight of expectations on his young shoulders and says he is willing to play anywhere if it means England win the World Cup.

At his first press conference since breaking a bone in his foot on April 29, the Manchester United striker said he was getting fitter and better by the day.

"It's good to be here and back with the lads and we have done well so far. I'm just really pleased to be here and want to just try and help win the competition," he said at England's training camp in southern Germany.

"I've always been positive from the day I got injured. My main aim was to take part and I've played in three or four games already. I'm really happy with that and hopefully I can play another three games," he said.

Rooney is a vital cog in the England machine and his return to action in the group stages was greeted with a surge in expectations that England can win their first World Cup in 40 years despite lacklustre form.

Much rests on how the 20-year-old performs, but he insists he is just another member of the team which he said was packed with potential match winners.

"In the previous games we haven't really played to our best and we have managed to get the results we needed, and hopefully that will continue and we keep getting the results," he said.

"Myself and the rest of the players know it's a 23-man squad and it takes everyone to win the World Cup and you just have to get on with it, and hopefully win the World Cup," he said.

"We've got a lot of match winners in the team Joe Cole, Steve Gerrard, Frank Lampard, there's a lot of players who can take the game by the scruff of the neck and win the game for us," he said.

"I'm just part of the squad and just want to do the best I can for the team," he said.

With Michael Owen out injured, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson played Rooney up front on his own in the second round game against Ecuador and said Wednesday he has made up his mind which formation to play against Portugal on Saturday.

The Swede refused to reveal what that was, but Rooney said he'd play anywhere, whether in the lone striker role or partnering Peter Crouch.

"As long as we keep winning I'll play anywhere the manager wants me to, whether that's on my own up front or in a two, I'm happy to do that," he said.

Rooney was a controversial choice when he joined the England squad with many feeling he was not fit enough to take part in a World Cup and Eriksson was widely criticised.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson urged him not to rush Rooney's return, but his star player said he always knew he would be ready.

"I know when I'm ready to play, the physios and the people that matter know when I'm ready to play," he said.

"There's a lot of stuff got written in the press wrongly, and that happens, but I was always confident and I knew when I wanted to play and when I was fit to play," he said.