Turkey return a humdinger

These things happen when the adrenalin is pumping though and it all calmed down pretty quickly.

I have to say I thought Mr Eriksson got his tactics and the shape of the team absolutely right at the Stadium of Light.

Nicky Butt, brought in as the midfield anchor man, did particularly well and I also thought Wayne Bridge was terrific on the left, especially in the second half.

Young Mr Rooney will take all the headlines though, and that's thoroughly deserved. I am very conscious about the hype which surrounds the young man and I don't want to go overboard about him.

Up until last week I had only seen Wayne on television but now I have had the opportunity to observe him in training and I have to say I am very impressed.

He already has all the physical attributes which is quite amazing considering he's still only 17 but his strength for one so young is amazing.

The one thing which has really impressed me, though, is his football brain.

I recall a training session on Tuesday when we were playing a game and I was on the opposite team to Wayne.

In one attack during that session he had strayed offside but checked back and ran across me, preventingme from closing down another of his team's strikers. That proved to me just what a sharp football brain. It's difficult but not impossible to coach players to do that but Wayne seemed to do it instinctively.

He was at it again during the match last night, taking defenders out of the game, running deep, pointing to where he wanted the ball. His general awareness was very impressive.

He certainly is a special talent and he's fortunate that, in David Moyes, he has a manager at Everton who will look after him in what can be a difficult period.

Obviously I would have liked to have been involved, particularly after playing against Liechtenstein last weekend but the manager said he wanted to keep everyone involved so Jonathan Woodgate stepped up on to the substitutes' bench and there is no problem with that.

There will be some who will say I have been left out because of those headlines in one Sunday newspaper following an interview I had given but I am sure that is not the case. I am certain it was a football decision and I am relaxed about it.

I still relish my involvement at international level and I still firmly believe I have a lot to offer.

Certainly last night's win sets up Group Seven brilliantly, especially with that final tie in Turkey next October.

Obviously it would be nice if we had qualified by then but whatever the state of the group, it promises to be a real humdinger.

It's a game which everyone would want to be involved in and I am no exception.