World Cup 2010: England need Wayne Rooney's short fuse says John Terry

John Terry believes England should treat Wayne Rooney's short temper as one of the team's principal assets rather than as a liability at the World Cup, and has rejected fears the Manchester United striker will have disciplinary problems in the tournament.

There have already been suggestions from England's Group C opponents that they will target the forward's suspect temperament, with Rooney doing little to discourage them by reacting furiously within minutes of being introduced into his side's last warm-up game against Platinum Stars yesterday. The 24-year-old swore at the local referee, Jeff Selogilwe, with the official warning that similar language would see him dismissed in the finals.

Rooney's reputation precedes him, with the forward having been sent off in his last appearance at the World Cup, against Portugal in the quarter-final four years ago. "But we have seen in the last two or three years, and I honestly feel this, that Wayne has grown up a lot," Terry said. "It won't be a problem. In fact I think that, at times like [the first half yesterday], we could have done with a bit more of that aggression.