Wayne Rooney has insisted he will not curb his fiery temperament because it will compromise his ability as a player.

The England striker has often been cited as an exemplar of on-field indiscipline, with his latest indiscretion coming in the form of a red card for throwing the ball towards referee Phil Dowd in Manchester United's 2-0 defeat at Fulham earlier this month.

Rooney is set to earn his 50th England cap in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine knowing his behaviour is always under scrutiny. But he has been voted as the FA.com's England player of the year after his two-goals in the 4-0 win over Slovakia and said: "I do get frustrated but aggression has always been part of my game.

"The desire to win makes me the player I am. Take that away and I'd be totally different. If I'm honest, I will never get used to losing."

The former Everton forward revealed how United's victory over Chelsea in last season's Champions League Final has helped shape his philosophy.

He said: "After we won the Champions League last season we were thinking about the start of the next season straight away.

"The manager said 'make sure we're ready for next season'. It is something that you have to do. You can enjoy the night when you win trophies but after that you're looking forward to winning them again.''

Rooney also hailed Fabio Capello's impact on England and claimed his desire to be successful with his country has never been greater.

He added: "Since the manager came in the routine has changed and the team has started playing better football. The main aim was to get wins in qualifying games and we did that, and thankfully I was able to score some goals as well.

"I still get shivers down my spine when I play for England. It is every player's aim to win a trophy for your country."