Gerrard to work it out with Lampard

Frank Malley,Pa
Monday 13 October 2008 16:14 BST
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Steven Gerrard insists he and Frank Lampard will keep working on their midfield partnership for England until they get it right.

And the Liverpool captain also says he is prepared to keep switching positions if it helps England's cause of qualifying for the World Cup in 2010.

If England manager Fabio Capello sticks to the 4-4-2 system which finished the 5-1 victory against Kazakhstan, Gerrard could find himself out wide on the left against Belarus on Wednesday.

That is the position he played in the goalless draw against the Czech Republic in August, after which Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp complained that England were wasting one of their top talents.

But Gerrard was confident that England's biggest conundrum could be solved.

He said: "We've (he and Lampard) just got to keep working hard and trying to make it happen. It's pointless giving up on it and saying it can't work. We've got a good manager there to help us. Just keep working hard and keep plugging away at it.

"I think this manager is going to keep changing personnel and tactics and formations before and during games so I don't think it is always going to be me and Frank in the middle."

Gerrard has played 69 times for his country and scored 13 goals while Chelsea's Lampard has scored 14 times in 65 appearances.

But you can count on one hand the times they have performed together as well for their country as they do week in and week out for their clubs.

There has even been talk that Gerrard could be incorporated at right full-back for his country, a position he filled for Liverpool towards the end of the 2005 Champions League final.

On the possibility of changing positions, Gerrard admitted: "I'm quite used to it. It happens to me at the club, it's happened throughout my England career. I'm prepared to deal with that. If the manager wants me to do a job I'll do it."

Gerrard also insisted England fans did have the right to boo Ashley Cole following his wayward back pass which led to Kazakhstan's goal on Saturday.

The players, he believes, just have to take the criticism, even after winning with such a flattering scoreline.

He said: "There are big expectations on this team. We are England, we expect to be successful and have a team that is playing well so when it doesn't always click you expect the criticism.

"Any supporter, when you pay money, you deserve to voice your opinion. But we need their support. If we're going to be successful in the future, we need them with us.

"It's not going to help Ashley and it's not going to help the team but the support we got was fantastic. They stayed with us throughout the game.

"He (Cole) is disappointed and the players are disappointed. But we got there on Saturday. Looking at the bigger picture we are top of the group with three wins and confident that we can go and get the fourth on Wednesday."

Cole misses the Belarus match owing to a hamstring injury but Gerrard is confident the left-back's confidence will not be adversely affected by the fans' reaction.

"You've got to get on with it," Gerrard said. "You've got to take it as a man. Ashley's a big character and the players are here to support him."

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