Source: Liverpool_Echo
Liverpool FC's Steven Gerrard vows to be spot on for England in World Cup Finals
STEVEN GERRARD insists he will be the first to raise his hand if England's World Cup hopes rest on penalties again this summer.[LNB]The Liverpool skipper missed from the spot in their shoot-out defeat at the hands of Portugal in the quarter-finals four years ago.[LNB]However, the 29-year-old midfielder says he has learned from the experience and has vowed to take responsibility if any of England's knockout games go to the wire in South Africa.[LNB]'I think, having missed the penalty, I'll probably be a bit more composed next time and take my time a bit more,' he said.[LNB]'I'll work that little bit harder in training to make sure I know what I'm going to be doing.[LNB]'It all happened really fast in 2006 and I felt after the penalties that I should have taken my time more.[LNB]'It is massive pressure but we've got to try and handle that pressure. I didn't handle it in 2006.[LNB]'It's difficult, it's not like taking a normal penalty in practice - you've got so much responsibility.[LNB]'You know all the fans back home are watching and when you're tired, when you're under so much pressure, that's when mistakes happen and that's what happened to me in 2006.'[LNB]Gerrard has enjoyed great success during a glittering club career in which the only major honour to escape his grasp is the Premier League trophy.[LNB]However, he is desperate to enjoy some international glory and after an impressive qualifying campaign he has high hopes for Fabio Capello's side this summer.[LNB]'We became a very difficult team to beat (in qualifying) and we put in some excellent performances, but the most important thing is that we still keep working hard to improve ahead of the World Cup,' he added.[LNB]'We've still got a long way to go. As players, we have to deal with the expectations and the pressure of playing for England.[LNB]'The supporters and media are very passionate about the country and a lot is expected of us. It's important that we, as players, cope with that in the best way we can.[LNB]'We're very confident that we can qualify from the group, but at the same time we have to show the teams respect.[LNB]'Every team has done fantastically well to get to the World Cup and all three teams against us in the group (Algeria, Slovenia and the USA) are desperate to beat England.'
