GIGGS' PRAISE FOR ROONEY

“Wayne has been compared to me many times because of the way he broke through as a teenager. My verdict on him is quite simple — he’s different class. He was even younger than me when he made his debut and the impact he has made has been incredible.

“He came on as a late substitute at Old Trafford last October when he’d played only a handful of first-team matches. I was astonished at his quality and his all-round ability. He wasn’t for a second intimidated by playing against Manchester United in front of 67,000 fans and impressed everyone on our side.

“Since making his debut, Wayne has taken everything else in his stride without any fuss. What he has done over the past 15 months is amazing for someone so young.

“He has not only made the step up from youth team football to the Premiership with ease, but he has also made the even more difficult jump from Premiership to international football look simple.

“From what I’ve seen of him it doesn’t matter if he’s playing a cup game for Everton against a lower league team or representing England at the highest level.

“He always plays the same and never looks like he doesn’t belong there. Wayne’s talent is special because he is an all-round player, but it’s the fact he is so dangerous that strikes fear into the opposition.

“Some question marks have been raised about Rooney’s temperament and whether he’ll not stay the course as a top-flight player. But he doesn’t have anything to worry about. He is here to stay and will get better and better with age.

“He’s lucky — like I was — that he has a good manager to look after him and protect him when things are getting a bit crazy.

“Moyes has done a great job at protecting him so far and that will help Wayne in the long term. Both on and off the pitch he’ll need the manager to help him cope with what’s going on because from personal experience I remember it being difficult at times.

“I also think Moyes is doing the right thing by using him sparingly.It’s important at that age not to play in every single game because it’s easy to become jaded and burned out. It’s a long season and by resting him from time to time it will ensure Rooney is fresh for the big games that come towards the end of each season.”