But the Bulgaria boss has called for referee Viktor Kassai to protect his player should the Three Lions front man lose his cool in Friday evening's clash at Wembley.

The 24-year-old is known for his fiery temperament and has been subject to provocations from international rivals ever since his red card against Portugal in the 2006 World Cup.

In last month's friendly win over Hungary, Rooney suffered boos from some sections of the Wembley crowd for a disappointing World Cup in which he failed to score in four matches.

And Stoilov wants the Hungarian official to ensure the Manchester United ace does not overstep the line in his bid to beat the jeers.

Aggression

Stoilov said: "Rooney has great skills. I have to teach my players how to stop him on the pitch, not how to provoke him.

"That is not the style of the Bulgarian national team who have come over here to play fairly.

"But if Rooney is nervous because of his lack of goals, he should be punished if he is too aggressive."

Stoilov insists his team will look to take the game to England, but the Bulgaria coach admits avoiding defeat will be his primary aim.

He added: "We are not coming to Wembley just to defend.

"In a game like this, a win for us would be the perfect result but we hope not to lose.

"We have to fight to achieve that goal but we will try to play football and, in a game like this, you never know."