Wayne Rooney leaves Theo Walcott to lick his wounds

Wayne Rooney today revealed he has not ribbed Theo Walcott over Sunday's Old Trafford drubbing after the pair joined up with the England squad.

Rooney inspired United's stunning 8-2 victory with a hat-trick but decided against teasing his England team-mate in the build up to Friday's Euro 2012 qualifying clash with Bulgaria in Sofia.

The United striker said: "It's always great to be in good form and scoring goals, and I hope that can continue over the next two games.

"I'm looking forward to playing for England again and helping us get the points we need.

"We want Theo at his best so we don't want him to remember the result the other day."

Meanwhile, Rooney is convinced United's young players can make the same impact for England as they have for the champions at the start of the season.

Tom Cleverley, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are all in the senior squad along with new signing Ashley Young for the Euro 2012 qualifiers with Bulgaria and Wales after helping United to the top of the Premier League with three victories from their opening three matches.

At 25, Rooney is one of the senior United players in the squad and has seen enough from his Old Trafford team-mates to believe they can quickly settle into Fabio Capello's squad.

Asked if they could be key players for England, Rooney said: "I think so. They've started for United in the first three games and done well.

"They've deserved their places in the team and it's good that the manager [Capello] has recognised they've done well.

"I'm sure that if they start or play a part in these games, they won't let him down. They have done really well and hopefully that will continue. They have done well for the Under-21s in the past and now they have been brought into the senior squad.

"In training you could see that they were comfortable around the other players. They know a few of them and they have settled in quickly.

"Chris Smalling has done brilliantly at right-back and both he and Phil Jones can play there or at centre-back. It is vital for a manager to have those options, especially in a tournament."