Roy Hodgson: Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is a LEGEND

It’s not a moniker that generally sits well with Hodgson, who recalls the biting criticism which came his way from an army of former Liverpool employees during his short stint as Anfield boss.

He revealed: “At Liverpool I was constantly surrounded by people who were described by Liverpool TV as legends, some of whom I could barely remember.

“So I think the word legend is a dangerous one. I don’t think you have to do too much to be a legend but I think Wayne’s already a legend.”

This season there would be few detractors, with the 29-year-old England striker and keeper David de Gea undoubtedly United’s most consistent performers.

Rooney is just three goals shy of Manchester United icon Sir Bobby Charlton’s England goalscoring record of 49, while the Croxteth-born Scouser also has a club records in his sights.

Hodgson acknowledged: “It would be very easy for me to talk about players from the 1950s, how great they are and how much better they are than players of today. But the reason I never do it, and hopefully never will, is because I realise how the game has moved forward.

“Scoring 50 goals today is, in my opinion, harder than 50 goals in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. They are still hard to get and are still great goals but the game moves forward all the time. Wayne has got those goals in a highly competitive situation and he needs to be very proud of it.

“Having said that, Bobby Charlton is and always will be regarded as one of the very, very best players we’ve ever produced, if not the best, because he didn’t just score goals, he did many other things as well.

“He’s just an outstanding player, a fantastic footballer. And I’m sure that Wayne will get every pleasure knowing that he’s got closer to the player that is Bobby Charlton. Of course what Bobby Charlton has which no England player of the current generation has is a World Cup winners’ medal.”

Three points this afternoon are vital to both clubs as they seek Champions League qualification.

For Rooney’s England team-mate Jordan Henderson, there is praise of a different sort from Hodgson.

The England manager has witnessed at close quarters the former Sunderland midfielder’s rise from the depths of despair, when he was labelled a £20million flop, to Steven Gerrard’s successor as Liverpool captain.

Hodgson said: “It isn’t so long ago that I picked him for Euro 2012 and that decision was vilified.

“People were saying he wasn’t getting into the Liverpool team. He was being described as a waste of money... etcetera, etcetera. Then he went to the European Under-21 championships a year later and got an awful lot of criticism captaining England. 

“No one had a good word to say about him, so his rise since has been quite meteoric. It’s only in the last year that people have started to say, ‘Actually, this boy’s a good player. This lad has a lot of qualities.’

“And I think the responsibility he’s been given at Liverpool now by Brendan Rodgers will help him.

“Liverpool’s success will rub off on him as well, as he’s been an important part of it.

“I think we’ll see him get better and better, and if he starts to add goals as well, then you’re talking about someone who is exceptional.”