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Euro 2012: England striker Wayne Rooney ready for Ukraine test

Wayne Rooney insists he has no problems with his attitude or temperament ahead of a potentially hostile Euro 2012 atmosphere against Ukraine on Tuesday.

The England striker, 26, has completed a suspension following adismissal in qualifying which excluded him from his country's first two games.

"What happened was a mistake and I've paid the price," he told reporters.

"I'm happy and ready to play. I've been looking forward to it and now I'm available to play I'm excited."

“We've been to a lot of stadiums around the world and we've had to deal with a big atmosphere on a lot of occasions”

Wayne RooneyEngland striker

Rooney was initially banned for the entire group stage following his straight red card for violent conduct against Montenegro in October.

The suspension was reduced to two games on appeal, and the Manchester United forward admitted that at one stage he feared for his Euro 2012 involvement.

"When it was a three-game ban I thought I'd probably wouldn't be here," Rooney admitted. "I'm happy that I am here."

England need just a point from their final Group D game against Ukraine in Donetsk on Tuesday to reach the knock-out stage. The co-hosts, meanwhile, require a win to reach the quarter-finals.

In a Donbass Arena expected to be dominated by noisy home support, Rooney maintained that England will be able to remain cool and collected.

"We've been to a lot of stadiums around the world and we've had to deal with a big atmosphere on a lot of occasions," he said.

Rooney

"We're big enough and experienced enough to deal with that."

Rooney's colleague at United, 21-year-old striker Danny Welbeck, has lead the England line in both of the opening fixtures andscored against Sweden on Friday, as didLiverpool striker Andy Carroll.

England manager Roy Hodgson has already indicated that he will select Rooney on Tuesday, with another attacker expected to miss out.

Rooney, however, was full of praise for his goalscoring colleagues.

"I know Danny very well having played with him at club level," he said.

"Andy has done very well. He's a big old-fashioned number nine who can hold the ball up and score goals.

"We mustn't forget Jermain [Defoe, the fourth striker in the squad], who's as natural a goalscorer as you'll ever see.

"We are four good strikers. We've got a big belief in ourselves. We're good enough certainly to go through the group stages."

England have based themselves in Krakow in Poland for the duration of Euro 2012. Rooney says he is enjoying the inner-city base, the bustling atmosphere contrasting favourably with the out-of-town team camp at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

When asked if the England squad are enjoying themselves more this time out, he told "Without doubt.

"The players have really settled, they're happy. Two years ago we were a little unsettled in certain ways. But the players are all happy playing together, playing for each other, which I'm sure everyone can see on the pitch."