John Stones insists captain Wayne Rooney remains a key player for England, despite currently being out of favour at Manchester United. Rooney has endured a difficult start to the new Premier League season and has been left on the substitutes bench for the previous three matches, having failed to score since the opening day success at Bournemouth. As well as his form, the 30-year-olds position in the England team has also been a major taking point following his spell as a midfielder under Roy Hodgson at Euro 2016. Rooney stressed on Tuesday he would play in any position decided by interim manager Gareth Southgate, even if that meant settling for place on the substitutes bench. Jamie Vardy, Jordan Henderson, Wayne Rooney, Dele Alli and Theo Walcott in training at St Georges Park ahead of Englands match against Malta But when asked whether he felt Rooney was still a big player for England, Stones said: Definitely. He has been throughout the years. Every player goes through up and down patches. Waynes always fully focused when he comes here and is a key player, as is everyone in my eyes.Stones added: I dont think you get the 115 plus caps that hes got [if youre not important]. Hes an experienced player that knows the game inside out and theres not only him, I could fire off a good few names. Stones has credited the senior England players for helping the younger players in the squad They [the experienced players] are massive for me and the rest of the young boys coming through, giving us pointers in game situations and when things are not going so well. Theyve been there and been through those experiences before, its kind of new for us in some respects. They are massive to the group and its great that we get along, no matter what age you are, club you play for or if youre a new player to the squad, everyone seems to gel in quite quickly which is great. Weve got a great team spirit about us. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. England face Malta on Saturday at Wembley in their first fixture since the departure of Sam Allardyce last week and the subsequent appointment of Southgate.Stones, who featured under Southgate for the U21s, was full of praise for the 46-year-old and revealed the lengths in which he goes to ensure every player feels settled in the squad. Meal times, down times, he is always making time to spend a few minutes to see how you are, how you are doing at your club and what he expects of you here, Stones said. I think we all know what we expect from each other, but its good to have a one-to-one conversation with the manager, see what his thoughts are and see how we are moving forward. Stones also gave his backing to England interim manager Gareth Southgate Hes always been around the place, coming into our dressing room seeing all the senior boys. Its all familiar faces and it is good to come in and feel relaxed in your environment, knowing how he works. He knows us having come to many Premier League games, I am sure. Its been a good few days and all the boys are getting on, were really enjoying it. You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Rooney: Ill play where picked FA to delay manager search Rashford will be a superstar WATCH: Rashford rejoins U21s. Saints Jerseys 2021 . As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back. Custom New Orleans Saints Jerseys . 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Nadal eventually overcame his 103rd-ranked opponent to reach the third round, rebounding from a surprise loss to Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals.SPOKANE, Wash. - Mitch Holmberg scored his 62nd goal of the season in regulation and then scored in the shootout as the Spokane Chiefs edged the visiting Tri-City Americans 4-3 on Friday in Western Hockey League action. Holmberg currently leads the WHL in scoring with 118 points in 71 games and has an eight-point lead over the second-leading scorer, Nicolas Petan of the Portland Winterhawks. Eric Williams made 26 saves for the win. Connor Chartier and Keanu Yamamoto also scored for the Chiefs (40-25-6) in regulation and Liam Stewart scored the shootout winner. Jessey Astles had a pair of goals for the Americans (28-32-10), who dropped their fifth straight game, and Parker Bowles scored once. Evan Sarthou turned away 39-of-42 shots in a losing cause. --- HITMEN 5 ICE 4 (SO) CRANBROOK, B.C. — Jake Virtanen had a goal and an assist in regulation and had the shootout winner as Calgary slipped past Kootenay. Brady Brassart, Joe Mahon and Greg Chase also scored for the Hitmen (47-17-7). Luke Philp scored twice for the Ice (39-27-5) and set up goals by Jagger Dirk and Sam Reinhart. Calgarys Chris Driedger made 37 saves for the win. Kootenays Mackenzie Skapski gave up three goals on 16 shots before giving way to Wyatt Hoflin, who stopped 16-of-17 shots in 36 minutes of relief. --- RAIDERS 7 BLADES 2 PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Collin Valcourt had two goals and two assists and Leon Draisaitl scored once and set up three more as the Raiders crushed Saskatoon to keep their playoff hopes alive. Josh Morrissey and Dakota Conroy each had a goal and two assists for Prince Albert (34-32-5), which is tied for eighth place with the Red Deer Rebels in the Eastern Conference. Calder Brooks and Gage Quinney added a goal apiece. Cory Millette and Mitch Lipon scored for the Blades (16-50-5), who dropped their 11th game in a row. Nick McBride made 18 saves for the Raiders. Troy Trombley stopped 31-of-38 for Saskatoon. --- WHEAT KINGS 4 PATS 3 (OT) REGINA — Eric Roy scored the winner at 2:18 of the extra period as Brandon slipped past the Pats. Peter Quenneville had two goals and an assist in regulation for the Wheat Kings (33-29-9), who hold down the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, and Richard Nejezchleb added a goal and an assist. Dmitry Sinitsyn, Dryden Hunt and Connor Gay supplied the scoring for Regina (39-25-7), which clinched first place in the East Division despite the loss. Jordan Papirny made 29 saves for Brandon while Dawson MacAuley turned away 31-of-35 shots for the Pats. --- BRONCOS 5 WARRIORS 4 SSWIFT CURRENT, Sask.dddddddddddd — Jay Merkley had a pair of goals, including one shorthanded into an empty net, as the Broncos snapped Moose Jaws four-game win streak. Glenn Gawdin, Nathan Burns and Colby Cave also scored for Swift Current (37-25-9) and Eetu Laurikainen made 26 saves for the victory. Bryson Gore scored twice for the Warriors (21-41-9) while Brayden Point and Sam Fioretti had the others. Moose Jaws Zach Sawchenko stopped 33-of-37 shots in defeat. --- BLAZERS 5 COUGARS 1 KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Bolton Pouliot stopped 35 shots, including 17 in the third period, as the Blazers beat Prince George to avoid their ninth straight loss. Collin Shirley, Nick Chyzowski, Cole Ully, Deven Sideroff and Nathan Looysen supplied the offence for Kamloops (14-52-5). Troy Bourke scored the lone goal for the Cougars (26-37-8), who dropped their sixth game in a row. Brett Zarowny allowed four goals on 23 shots for Prince George before Ty Edmonds took over at the 2:20 mark of the third period. Edmonds stopped 9-of-10 shots in relief. --- SILVERTIPS 5 ROYALS 3 VICTORIA — Ivan Nikolishin had a goal and two assists as Everett beat the Royals to improve to 10-0-1 in its last 11 games. Zane Jones, Manraj Hayer, Matt Pufahl and Noah Juulsen also scored for the Silvertips (38-23-9) and Joshua Winquist tacked on two assists. Victoria (48-19-4) got goals from Tyler Soy, Steven Hodges and Mitch Skapski. Everetts Austin Lotz made 23 saves for the win as Patrik Polivka turned aside 26-of-31 shots for the Royals. --- ROCKETS 6 GIANTS 5 VANCOUVER — Madison Bowey and Justin Kirkland each scored twice as Kelowna held off the Giants from a third-period comeback. Myles Bell had a goal and two assists for the Rockets (56-11-4) and Rourke Chartier added the other. Ty Ronning had a pair of goals for Vancouver (32-28-11), which trailed 6-1 after 40 minutes of play, and Dmitry Osipov, Joel Hamilton and Jackson Houck scored a goal apiece. Jackson Whistle made 29 saves for Kelowna. Ryan Kubic allowed six goals on 30 shots for the Giants. --- WINTERHAWKS 5 THUNDERBIRDS 2 KENT, Wash. — Oliver Bjorkstrand had two goals and four points as Portland toppled Seattle for its fifth win in a row. Taylor Leier had a goal and an assist for the Winterhawks (52-13-5) while Brendan Leispic and Mathew Dumba each scored once. Roberts Lipsbergs and Ryan Gropp scored for the Thunderbirds (40-24-6). Portlands Brendan Burke made 30 saves for the win as Seattles Taran Kozun turned away 46-of-51 shots in defeat. --- ' ' '