Coach Sven Goran Eriksson has pleaded with England not to target Wayne Rooney in the aftermath of the youngster's World Cup sending off.

"I think that you, much more than me, need Wayne Rooney. He is the golden boy of English football, so don't kill him," said Eriksson at a new conference in England's training camp near Frankfurt on Monday.

Rooney was dismissed against Portugal in the quarter-final and England went on to lose on penalties.

David Beckham was dismissed in the 1998 World Cup and then suffered criticism and abuse on his return to England, but Eriksson believes Rooney should be protected.

"If he did it with intention or not, leave it, you need him forthe qualification games and to win Euro 2008. I have no hard feelings," Eriksson added.

England assistant coach Steve McClaren will take over from Eriksson and his first task will be to prepare for a friendly against Greece at Old Trafford in August.