As the season hauls itself towards an ending, Wayne Rooney must be one of the few footballers with no need to fake an enthusiasm for the games with Kazakhstan and Andorra. Instead of being weighed down by the international programme, the attacker has been let loose. In his last five appearances for his country he has scored seven goals.

That total for Manchester United has been spread over the previous 19 outings. Comparisons, of course, are not entirely fair. The all-inclusive nature of the World Cup qualifiers means that a striker can enjoy the easy pickings that will elude him in the Premier League or Champions League. It is also the case, however, that Fabio Capello has a perspective on Rooney's role that is not echoed with any regularity at Old Trafford.

In view of the fact that United are less prolific than they used to be, Sir Alex Ferguson may wonder if Rooney could be given more licence. At the moment he commonly appears for his club on the left of an attacking trio who support a lone striker. The prolific streak for his country started when the manager sited him in the centre, close to the target man Emile Heskey. Rooney enjoys a narrower set of duties with England and can look more productive.

He was not launching any rebellion against his club but frustrations were still expressed yesterday. "The position I play for England is the one I like playing most," Rooney said. "I haven't played that position for a while for United. Of course it's the manager's choice but I've always said my best position is playing up front. So I'm enjoying doing that.

"When you're playing out on the left, you have responsibilities to get back and defend. Sometimes that does take away a bit of energy from your attacking. But with England you can get your rest at times by swapping with Steven [Gerrard]. That allows you to get forward as well. But I'm happy to play where I'm playing."

The exchanging of positions with the Liverpool captain allows both men spells in the area they love best. Capello, with a typically lucid policy, gets the best out of each man. Rooney has personal ambition to inspire him in the harrying of defenders. His 21 goals for England leave him far short of Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 49 but he is a mere 23-year-old. "I'd love to be the leading England goalscorer," Rooney said. "I'm still a long way away but I'd be privileged to become that."

There is a realisation, too, that some players serve the side best by indulging their instincts. "As a forward," said Rooney, "you need to be selfish if you're going to score the goals. I love playing for the team. I've done that for many years now. But maybe I do need to be more selfish. It's something I want to do if I'm going to be playing up front."

Nowadays Rooney is far from being the tongue-tied prodigy we first knew. When it was mentioned that Michael Owen, so prolific in his youth, is no longer regarded as the man to eclipse Charlton's feat, Rooney snapped back that Ryan Giggs, once a teenage phenomenon, has, at 35, been voted the 2009 player of the year by his fellow professionals.

Rooney is mature enough, too, to recognise England's presumptuousness, which did not end entirely until Steve McClaren's team failed to reach Euro 2008. "It's been a bit frustrating," he said. "We weren't as good as we all thought. There were a lot of expectations and we didn't deliver. That was frustrating at times. Now I'm enjoying playing for England more than ever, as well as winning. The manager's a strong manager and his demands on us are obvious. You're wary now."

Modesty comes readily to those who have lately come into contact with an outstanding generation of Spanish footballers. Rooney might have missed the 2–0 defeat in February's friendly international but there was no avoiding some of those players when they were in the Barcelona line-up that took the Champions League from United.

There is a vein of realism in Rooney now. He regards Spain as "the best team in the world" and sees no prospect of outdoing them. "We've got to try and defend, be solid and counter-attack," he argued. "If you try to play football against them, they'll destroy you." Whether he has the ball at his feet or a microphone in front of him, Rooney is no longer a creature of pure instinct. Over time that may serve him and England well.