Source: SKY_Sports
Gerrard hails Capello know-how
Steven Gerrard believes Fabio Capello has discovered how to finally bring the best out of him for England.
Previous England bosses have struggled to find a system that enables the Liverpool captain to reproduce his club form on the international stage.
Gerrard's preferred position is supporting a lone striker, where he usually plays for Liverpool, but he reckons he has only played there five times for his country.
Instead, the 28-year-old has often been deployed on the left of midfield for England, a role he has previously called the "graveyard shift".
And although Capello started Gerrard out wide again against Slovakia and Ukraine this week, Gerrard often switched roles with forward Wayne Rooney, allowing them to make their presence felt in both wide and central roles.
"It's a pleasure to play with Wayne," said Gerrard. "In this type of form it is easy to link up with him. He gives me good options and I'm enjoying playing with him.
"You don't get a CV like Fabio Capello's if you are not clever and know where to play people.
"He's a good manager and he seems to have found a solution to getting attacking players in the team and I'm enjoying it.
"My partnership with Wayne can just get better the more we play in these roles," Gerrard added. "I think the relationship is going to get stronger and hopefully it can be key in the future.
"As a team, we are building. You can see how far we have come in a short space of time and there is still a long way to go until the World Cup, a lot more improving to do and hopefully we are a better team by the time the World Cup comes around."
The greater freedom allowed to Gerrard means that Frank Lampard has to be more defensive in the centre of midfield than he is for his club, Chelsea.
Sacrifice"It's all about players pulling in the right direction for the team," said Gerrard.
"A lot of players in the last few years have had to sacrifice themselves for the team.
"We are all about qualification for the World Cup, not individuals.
"Frank has worked very hard and done very well over the last couple of games."
