The Monday Football Column: Thank Coleen for Wayne's new found maturity

Coleen Rooney - the woman helping Wayne become a man

Ralph Ellis tells us how Wayne Rooney is showing signs of becoming a very mature footballer both on and off the pitch, and why it might all be down to his good wife...

I'm not a big fan of celebrity culture, but if there's one self made star I admire immensely then it is Coleen Rooney.

She is, as her Wikipedia page correctly states, best known for being the wife of Wayne. But boy, has she taken advantage of all that her status as partner to England's second most famous footballer has brought her?

It's one thing to be given opportunities to learn TV presentation, to have style advice, to have the budget to buy the best teachers. It's another to listen and learn from all that instruction, to do the unseen work and practice. She's done that, and has rightly become a role model to girls from humble backgrounds to make the best of themselves.

So I'm just wondering if it is her learning ethic that has finally rubbed off on Wayne? There were lots of good signs last week when the Manchester United star was handed the captaincy to lead out his country in a World Cup qualifier for the first time.

The big challenge for any player is to be arrogant with the ball at his feet, but humble at every other time. And it's a demand that until now Rooney has rarely measured up to. Nobody has doubted his talent, from the moment 10 years ago this week that he first burst onto the stage in an Everton shirt with that wonder goal against Arsenal. What has always been questioned is his temperament.

But this past week seems to have marked a bit of a turning point. Maybe it's the responsibility that he and Coleen have just announced they have a second child on the way.

He said the right things. He accepted his mistakes in the past, the rant at fans in South Africa and the stupid red card against Montenegro that wrecked his part in Euro 2012. He even agreed that, in hindsight, preparing for that tournament with a trip to Las Vegas was less than clever. But more important he then delivered on the pitch, scoring two goals in the Friday night demolition of San Marino.

He'll hand back the armband to Steven Gerrard tomorrow night in Poland but has made it clear he'd love the job in the future. And you can be sure he'll be doing his best to prove his credentials in the meantime (he's 2.56/4 to score at any time, incidentally).

This is arguably as big a season as there has ever been for him. He has to lead the way for his country, making sure we qualify from a group that should be straightforward but has some tricky fixtures on the way. And for his club he has a far greater challenge, to adapt his game to the arrival of Robin Van Persie.

Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to sign the Dutchman has already cast doubt about where Rooney fits in the future of Manchester United. Left on the bench for several early games, there has been speculation about whether Fergie has decided, in the ruthless way he sometimes does, that it's time to move another big star out.

United were nine games into the season before Rooney and Van Persie were both picked to start a game. In two matches since, the Englishman has reinvented himself in a deeper role and was rightly praised after the 3-0 win at Newcastle for the maturity of his performance.

If it is a sign of things to come, he could be worth watching at a current price of 10.09/1 in the early market to be the PFA Player of the Year. And perhaps, even more important, he could end up like his missus as a genuine role model for the value of learning.