Rooney has sneaky suspicion as Tuchel berates England ace Spence | Football | Sport

Wayne Rooney has confessed he believes Thomas Tuchel’s training ground exchange with Djed Spence was deliberate. The England boss was filmed shouting ‘Djed, Djed, Djed wake up! Wake up!’ during a brief segment of a training session open to the media, with Rooney convinced Tuchel had orchestrated the moment. Discussing it on the BBC ahead of The Three Lions’ World Cup encounter with Ghana, he said: “I think that was intended.

“I think for Thomas Tuchel, you have the open session, you have the 15 minutes which the press are allowed in for, and very rarely do you see the manager coaching the team in that. You see them doing the box playing stuff, but I think that was intended, and that was a message sent to the media and to the fans, but also to his players.”

Following the brief clip spreading rapidly across social media, Spence himself was questioned about Tuchel’s remarks, with the Tottenham defender offering an unequivocal response while lavishing praise on the 52 year old.

Spence told talkSPORT: “It’s normal. He’s a great manager. He wants the best from his players. He demands high standards and for this tournament, we need to be ready, we need to be on it.

“Every session needs to be of the highest quality. That’s what he demands. It’s good. I wouldn’t be the only one he says it to. It’s part of the game.

“I think he’s a great manager, he’s a great guy. Very detailed in what he wants to do. I’ve got great respect for him.

“It’s like what he always says, we’re building a family, we’ve built a brotherhood within the team, everyone has one dream, one brain.

“I think everyone is on the same path. We can do special things. I think he’s built that environment with this squad.”

Spence featured as a late substitute in England’s opening group fixture against Croatia before being handed a starting role against Ghana, replacing Nico O’Reilly.

Even before kick-off, the Tottenham star found himself making headlines after choosing not to shake hands with Ghana’s Thomas Partey.

The Three Lions endured a frustrating opening 45 minutes against the Black Stars, failing to register a single shot on target before the interval.