NICKY Butt last night tipped England to finish top of their World Cup qualifying group after claiming: "The win over Wales means we're right on track."

Saturday's 2-0 success at Old Trafford leaves England one point clear of Poland at the top of Group Six and after beating their closest rivals in Katowice last month, Sven Goran Eriksson's side find themselves firmly in pole position.

A win in Azerbaijan on Wednesday would strengthen their hand even further.

England are still unbeaten in World Cup and European Championship qualifiers under their Swedish coach.

Butt will continue in his midfield holding role in Baku and, after successfully stifling Wales' attacking threat, he insists that anything less than top spot would be a disaster given England's impressive start.

"I don't think there's anything to stop us topping the group now," said the Newcastle midfielder, who will win his 38th cap later this week.

"No disrespect to anyone else, but we've probably played the three best teams and we're top of the group.

"You just have to look around our dressing room to see the kind of talent that we've got in the squad.

"We've got good enough players to beat everyone in the group, so we know we've got nothing to be worried about.

"It's looking good for us at the minute, but we have to make sure that we take things forward with another good result in Azerbaijan.

"It won't be easy - it's a bit of a trip into the unknown - but if we show the same effort and commitment that we did against Wales, I'm sure we'll be all right."

England's old guard did the damage on Saturday, with Michael Owen and David Beckham finding the target.

But teenage sensation Wayne Rooney hogged the headlines again in a withdrawn role behind the front two.

"You can't speak too highly about Wayne," said Butt. "He's playing on some of the biggest stages of them all, but he always performs to a high level.

"His ability is second to none and he's already up there with the best players in the Premiership.

"It's probably a bit early to be comparing him to other players on the world stage, but we've already seen just how good he could be.

"He seems to be handling everything really well. He's a very level-headed lad - he doesn't seem to get carried away with his success - and his family are helping him to keep his feet on the ground."

Eriksson must now decide whether to employ the same tactics on Wednesday, or whether to pair Rooney back alongside Owen with another midfielder thrown into the mix.

Beckham's yellow card means he will play no part in Baku.

But while starting with Shaun Wright-Phillips would probably force Rooney up front, playing the more defensive Owen Hargreaves would allow the Manchester United striker to drop deep again.

"I think the role worked pretty well because I got a lot of space," said Rooney, who saw a ferocious first-half strike tipped on to the post by Paul Jones. "I was able to get on the ball and make things happen.

"It wasn't easy, but I think it helped my game a bit because Wales left me unmarked and that allowed me to have an influence.

"It's good to get on the ball. Michael Owen and Jermain Defoe were always causing a threat to the Wales defence and I was able to use the space that they were creating.

"When I was getting on the ball, I always had an option on, whether that was trying a shot or trying to play in one of the front two."

Rooney occasionally played in a more withdrawn role with previous club Everton.

After producing yet another impressive display on the international stage, the Manchester United star revealed that he looked to one of his club team-mates for inspiration.

"I haven't played in that position too often," he said. "But Paul Scholes made the position his own and he always did well there.

"He played in that position for England a lot, and he's still a big loss.

But now that he's gone someone's going to be asked to play there every now and then. When five strikers were announced in the squad, I was always expecting that to be me."

Rooney's movement created gaps for England's other frontmen to exploit, with Owen in particular benefiting from the new formation.

"Wayne's a different player to both me and Jermain," said the Real Madrid striker. "And he can slot into that role well.

"It was mine and Jermain's duty to drag the defenders down the channels, because we knew that would give Wayne the space that he thrives on.

"I thought we did that well. He was getting on the ball an awful lot and our passing created a lot of chances."