Aston Villa hero Dean Saunders says Emile Heskey deserves his England place.

Heskey is partnering Manchester United's Wayne Rooney in England's attack.

"A lot of the strikers who play with Emile Heskey seem to like playing with him and I think he is a selfless player," ex-Wales striker Saunders told Villa's website.

"He doesn't mind if he is creating goals or scoring them. He distracts defenders with his body strength and the way he moves across the top of the line of the pitch allows Rooney to drop into little areas to pick the ball up to get at people.

"He is a team player who you can bounce the ball off so I can understand why he is in there."