Gerrard urges England to be united

03 March 2010 09:37

Steven Gerrard believes it is crucial the England squad are united this summer to have any chance of World Cup glory.

Gerrard stressed the need to retain "togetherness and team spirit" in the wake of recent allegations concerning the likes of axed skipper John Terry and defender Ashley Cole.

"I think it is important for everyone to get on to be successful. We know there are a lot of opinions about this squad from the outside," said Gerrard. "But the most important thing is from the inside we are all one, we are all together and united."

He added: "For us to be successful in the summer, we need to all stick together. We know each other inside out now. We've had enough time under Fabio to realise what the manager wants from us.

"During the last couple of days, the team spirit and togetherness have not been affected. Everyone is united."

Gerrard accepts the need to adhere to Fabio Capello's wishes for the players behaving in the right manner on and off the pitch and the need to focus on the future.

He said: "Of course, you can't ignore the headlines because they are on the back pages and front pages, every TV channel, but we've got to forget about it and put it all behind us.

"We've got a massive tournament, the biggest tournament you can play in as a player, coming up.

"It is around the corner and it is important the players don't lose any focus. They should forget about stuff that is being written about players' private lives and focus on the football."

Source: PA