MICHAEL OWEN last night joined Sven-Goran Eriksson in begging England fans: Be patient with Wayne Rooney.

While Owen took the plaudits at the Riverside on Wednesday, Rooney failed to produce the form that galvanised England against Turkey in April.

The 17-year-old barely had a sight of goal before he was substituted just before the hour mark - and within ten minutes of his departure England scored twice.

Everton manager David Moyes's pleas for Rooney to be given time to mature as an international player appeared to have gone unheeded as the youngster laboured under the huge weight of expectation at Middlesbrough.

But after Eriksson defended the teenage striker, Owen backed him to be a "fantastic player" - as long as supporters did not expect too much, too soon.

Owen said: "I know we have to be patient with Wayne Rooney and Sven-Goran Eriksson knows that. But the outside doesn't seem to show that patience.

"If everyone realises that patience is important, we could have a fantastic player. But it's not easy."

Owen added: "There's a lot of pressure on young players nowadays. Some can handle it and some can't, and Wayne looks as if he's handling it really well.

"We expect a lot of anyone. When Joe Cole burst on the scene not so long ago, people were calling him the next Gazza. And I'm sure he will be a great player.

"I'm not going to say that Wayne is being built up too much because I think he is a fantastic player.

"I said 'Well done' to him after the game. I think everyone was pleased with the way he performed.

"He held the ball up well, had a lot of movement and kept the ball.

"I thought he had a good game, as did Darius Vassell when he came on."