Source: Eurosport
Lamps: Boo-boys made me stronger
Frank Lampard has warned England's fans that booing helps no-one, but admitted he is a stronger character for having to face the Wembley wrath. The unfortunate mantle of boo-boy now seems to have a new owner in Ashley Cole, with Stewart Downing not far behind judging by the mutterings of disquiet that rang round a near-capacity stadium on Saturday when the Middlesbrough man was introduced.
Despite Fabio Capello urging England supporters to stay solidly behind his team, it seems they just cannot get by without having someone to loathe.For a long time that man was Lampard, castigated for supposedly failing to produce his Chelsea form with an England shirt on.The 30-year-old admitted it was not a pleasant experience. However, going through it has had a positive side-effect."The first time you get a bit of stick it does affect you," he said.
"You are only human.
"Gradually it becomes a lot easier to deal with. You start thinking it doesn't matter too much and concentrate on doing your job.
"It is not nice for anyone to take stick from their own fans, everyone sees that with Ashley at the moment.
"There were a few rumblings at the weekend and it doesn't help anyone.
"But it has actually made me a bit stronger for coming through it."
The turning point for Lampard has come with the rise in England's fortunes under Capello. As they overcame Croatia and Belarus in a four-match winning sequence at the start of Group Six qualifying for next year's World Cup, so came the recognition Lampard must be doing something right.
"It has been very rewarding," he said.
"There are ups and downs in your career. You just have to try and overcome it.
"Now I just need to keep playing well. That's the only way people will respond in the right way."
If England see off a dangerous Ukraine team - the only group rival they have yet to beat - on Wednesday, it will not just be Lampard being feted. Despite last month's defeat to Euro 2008 winners Spain, it is obvious to everyone that Capello's arrival has had a positive effect on the England camp. The 'WAG' culture allowed to develop under Sven-Goran Eriksson and the informal references to 'Stevie G' and 'JT' of the ill-fated Steve McClaren era have now been binned in favour of the more clinical approach preferred by Capello.
There has been no pandering to egos during the Italian's illustrious career before and he can see no reason to start now, no matter how much wealth his players have amassed, nor the reputations that have gone before them. Like errant schoolboys, Lampard admits the players took a bit of getting used to the new regime. But, slowly, results started to justify the means. And now, whatever Capello asks for, he gets.
"A lot of people made a thing of the WAGS, and a lack of a 'caring' England team," said Lampard.
"There was an element of truth in what was said.
"We want to win. We just needed someone to put us in line a little bit and make us concentrate on what we were doing.
"Those things can be a slight culture shock. But then you start winning games and you get a really good feeling about things.
"Looking back, Capello was exactly what we needed."
