Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has no doubts Manchester United star Wayne Rooney can handle England's World Cup expectations.

In his column for The Sun, Redknapp wrote: "Wayne Rooney is very much a player for the future - with at least two more World Cups in him.

"But as England's star striker prepares to head to South Africa I hear echoes of Italia 90 and the hype which surrounded Paul Gascoigne at the time.

"The buzz, the chatter and the enormous pressure mounted on both men is comparable.

"Football has changed dramatically since the World Cup in Italy 20 years ago.

"But at that time Gazza could not step outside his front door, visit a shop or it seemed go to the loo without a thousand flashbulbs dazzling his eyes.

"England were star-struck and it is similar with Rooney - or Roo as he is widely known. He is a global star, a world-class player, a working class lad thrown into the fast lane at the biggest club in the country.

"There is a difference however, and this time around I don't think it will end in tears as it did that now infamous night in Turin with defeat in the semi-finals.

"Rooney is not yet 25 but he should thrive on the hype.

"He should revel in it and appreciate the fact that so many thousands of people have so much respect for him as a footballer.

"What he is experiencing now is what he dreamed of as a schoolboy.

"His old boss at Everton, David Moyes, told me that when Rooney was a teenager at Goodison Park he would finish training and then go off and play football with his mates in the park.

"That was even when he was an established Premier League player.

"Gascoigne was an equally enthusiastic character but our 21st Century Gazza is far more stable and much better equipped to handle stardom."