Beckham: aggression vital to Rooney's game

David Beckham has said that it would be wrong to try and make Wayne Rooney play with less aggression claiming that it's vital to the Manchester United striker's game. The comments come in the wake of Rooney's sending off against Fulham and his subsequent petulant reaction.

"With Wayne Rooney you don't get the exceptional talent and player you have without that side of his game," Beckham told reporters "If you take that side out of his game, he becomes a different player, a different animal. You don't want to take that out of him."

Rooney's lack of discipline has cost England dear in the past, with his red card against Portugal in 2006 effectively spelling the end of his team's participation in the World Cup. But Becks said he has no doubts about Rooney's temperament.

"I've reacted on the pitch and it wasn't a great reaction. It might be wrong but it is me showing I'm frustrated that we're losing. He's got enough people around him, there isn't a stronger manager than Sir Alex Ferguson"

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