Wayne Rooney has called for Harry Kane to be granted time to develop at his own pace but admits the Tottenham Hotspur striker’s emergence, along with that of England’s other bright young things, has ensured he trains every day as if his place in the national team “is on the line”.

The Manchester United forward established himself as England’s highest scorer by netting a 50th for his country in the 2-0 win over Switzerland on Tuesday. Rooney singled out Kane, who opened the scoring 10 minutes after his introduction from the bench to register a third goal in four caps, in a speech to team-mates and coaching staff post-match in the dressing room as a player who could potentially draw level with or surpass his tally.

Kane, who supplied a startling 31 club goals in his breakthrough campaign last year, has yet to score for Spurs in four Premier League fixtures this season but netted in each of his cameos with his country, ensuring he returns to his club with confidence bolstered.

“The two goals will certainly help him,” said Rooney. “You have to understand he’s only a young lad – he’s only played one season in the Premier League – and this will help him mentally. You’ll have to be patient. You can see in training he is a quality player, he’s a goalscorer.

“I always remember when I was younger, going through stages of not scoring, I always tried to do too much. The thing to do is to keep it simple, keep doing the things you know. The chances will come and so will the goals. I was delighted, as you could see, when he scored. It is a big moment for him, coming off the bench and scoring. He has given the manager something to think about and, if he keeps doing the simple things and doing what he does best, he’ll score plenty of goals.

“He has the character to handle the pressure that will come his way. He is level-headed. Nowadays the young lads are made differently. It doesn’t seem to faze them that much. He has the right people around him and he will be a really good player for years to come. I’m sure he’ll be a great player for England and score a lot of goals.”

Rooney’s and Kane’s partnership remains in its infancy, their involvement on the pitch together limited to the entirety of the 1-1 draw with Italy in a friendly in March and 33 minutes against Switzerland. Yet the 29-year-old has seen glimpses of promise in the combination – “I feel I can play off him, with the way he plays,” he said – with the younger man still pinching himself to be featuring alongside a player whose goals had made such an impression at Euro 2004.

“I was about 11 back then, but I grew up watching him, hoping I might one day play with him,” said Kane. “So to be at Wembley seeing him break the record, sharing that with him, was special for him but also special for all of us. A proud day.

“He is a great role model. To be with him this week has been great for me: he has been there and done it for club and country for so many years and has gained a lot of experience. I can only learn from players like that. It’s a confidence boost for me to have scored the two goals, but there is no rush as far as my club [form] is concerned. If I don’t score for the next three or four games, there is no panic. I will just keep working hard and trying to improve. It’s a long old season, I’m ahead of where I was last year, so I am going to focus on the positives and do my best for the team. When you have a good season people always expect you to repeat it. They want you to score every game. But it doesn’t always happen like that. You’ve got to be strong mentally because there are going to be ups and downs in a season. I’ll keep my head straight.”

Rooney is now targeting prolonging his international career for at least three more years, and extending his record goal tally. “I just want to keep playing,” he said. “I understand there are a lot of young lads in this team and I don’t want to give my place up. I want to play. I come and work harder every time and I want to make it hard for the manager to leave me out over the next couple of years.

“You have to fear for your place: I train every day as if my place is on the line. When you get older and have played a lot of games you become more aware of the need [to maintain standards].”