Provocation may light fire in Wayne Rooney

Montenegro have been warned that any attempt to provoke Wayne Rooney into another reckless red card on Tuesday could backfire and only inspire the England striker to -produce a match-winning performance. Rooney was banned for the -opening two matches of Euro 2012 after being sent off for inexplicably kicking -Miodrag Dzudovic when England drew 2-2 with Montenegro on their previous visit to Podgorica's City -Stadium in 2011.

With qualification for the World Cup finals next summer potentially resting on the match tomorrow, the expectation is that Montenegro, who lead Group H by two points, will attempt to target Rooney and "wind up" the England players with a series of frustration tactics.

There is confidence within the England camp, however, that Rooney has sufficiently matured in the inter-vening 17 months to handle what is certain to be an intense and hostile atmosphere. Joleon Lescott said yesterday that Montenegro could suffer a Rooney "backlash" if they attempted to antognise his team-mate while manager Roy Hodgson is confident that his star player will not be affected by returning to the scene of one of the lowest moments in his career.

"He's scoring goals, isn't he?" Hodgson said. "There's no reason for his confidence to be fragile. He's so experienced, I'm sure he's capable of writing off that incident. He's paid his price. I'd like to think he'd forget all about it." Lescott is also adamant Rooney has changed since he last played in Podgorica and says that the players will be mentally prepared for the tactics of the Montenegro team. "We're all old enough to realise that there will be issues there, they'll try to wind us up, waste time and stuff like that if need be but I like to think we're all mature enough to deal with that," Lescott said.

"They might play on his temperament but Wayne has matured now. He is older and more experienced now and I am sure he will be professional enough to deal with anything that they throw at him. "Sometimes they kick, niggle, time waste - anything to try and frustrate you.

You have to deal with that, I don't think anyone will be fazed by what they have to face. Maybe when Wayne was a bit younger, he had a bit more of a temper in him. But he's older, more mature and experienced in every situation." Asked if there could be a backlash from Rooney if they did try to wind him up, Lescott said: "The backlash could be just that - it could enhance his performance. On his day, Wayne is one of the best in the world.

"Wayne's a top professional and he believes in his own ability more than anyone so I'm sure going into the game on Tuesday that he won't be with a point to prove but he'll be just determined to win the game for us. "There will be a lot of expectation on Wayne but knowing him I don't think he will let that faze him in any way. I don't think he will drawing on any negativity from previous performances. "The biggest disappointment last time was the fact that he was going to miss games in the Euros.

Thankfully it didn't affect us qualifying for the finals - on another occasion it could of - but Wayne is a massive player for the nation and any game he is not involved in it is going to be massive blow." Dzudovic wrote a letter of support for Rooney to Uefa to help get his ban reduced from three to two matches and believes that Montenegro will at least draw tomorrow. "I expect not to lose," he said. "Rooney is world class.

He could have a bad day, but even on a bad day he is very dangerous. He did not attempt to hurt me - it was just a moment of weakness." England go into the Montenegro game with their confidence boosted by scoring eight goals against San Marino but Hodgson is still likely to make as many as six changes to the team. Glen Johnson, who required ongoing treatment for a toe injury, should replace Kyle Walker at right-back while Ashley Cole is likely to take the place of Leighton Baines at left-back. Captain Steven Gerrard and Michael Carrick are expected to return in central midfield while the defensive qualities of James Milner and Danny Welbeck could mean that they replace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ashley Young in the wide positions.

That would leave a question-mark over whether Hodgson retains Jermain Defoe alongside Rooney up front or asks Tom Cleverley or Young to play as a more advanced midfielder in support. Lescott has stressed that the -players must retain the focus they showed against San Marino as they attempt to overhaul Montenegro at the top of Group H. "The concentration levels have to be the same - I guess it will be hostile and they will be well organised and disciplined," he said.