Kevin Phillips: 'I wouldn't start Wayne Rooney at Euro 2016'

Ex-England frontman Kevin Phillips has admitted that Wayne Rooney would not make it into his starting lineup for the opening game of Euro 2016 against Russia.

Despite scoring 17 goals for club and country, Rooney is widely considered to have struggled for both form and fitness this season.

In contrast, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy have been in clinical mood, scoring 25 and 24 Premier League goals for Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City respectively.

With that in mind, Phillips has insisted that it should be those two that are given the nod by Roy Hodgson and not Manchester United's Rooney.

"I'm a firm believer that we need to pick players who are bang in form going into the Euros, and in Kane and Vardy, there are no two better strikers in the Premier League at the moment," he told talkSPORT.

"Obviously there's a big argument for Rooney. But me, personally, I wouldn't start Wayne Rooney in the first game. I watched him last night [vs. West Ham United], and he didn't look at it.

"So everyone will have their say, but for me if you put those two on the pitch you are guaranteed goals."

Kane and Vardy have scored six senior international goals between them.