12 October 2007
VIDEO: Steven Gerrard press conference
As he prepares to skipper England in a competitive game at Wembley, Steven Gerrard reveals his pride at getting the chance. 
England v Estonia
UEFA European Championship Qualifier
3pm, Saturday 13 October 2007
Wembley Stadium
Live on BBC1



Steven Gerrard will lead England out against Estonia determined to prove his team has learned the art of consistency.

The Liverpool ace is captain in place of injured John Terry, whose knee injury will be assessed again on Monday before a decision is made on whether to take him to Russia.

The primary aim for the Three Lions is to win three points to put pressure on rivals Russia, Israel and Croatia in Group E of the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

But after superb 3-0 home victories over two of those teams already there is also a steely determination in the squad to show this is no false dawn for Steve McClaren’s side.

Nobody is hiding the fact that some of the campaign has been disappointing. But Gerrard believes a corner has been turned – and the players have learned from the experience.

He said: "We have been through bad times together but I think it has made us stronger and if we can build on our last two performances and improve then we can achieve something together.

"I think teams that achieve big things and get big rewards go through difficult times and they become stronger. They learn from it.

"The bad times we've had as a team, we have improved on them and I don't think you will see us go back to those games. Everyone is confident and looking forward.

"We know we are a good side. We've just got to try and find some consistency. We will do."

Gerrard believes the old England were guilty of dropping points they should never have thrown away – not least a home match against Macedonia last year which ended 0-0.

That result, far more than the subsequent defeat in Croatia, made life difficult for McClaren’s men until they produced a spectacular revival.

Gerrard added: “When I say bad days I am talking about winning one game, and then putting in a bad performance - the inconsistent days.

“We’ve got to learn from what happened against Macedonia and learn as a team just to focus on the next game.

“As soon as we walked through the door this week, the manager said 'forget Russia' and put our efforts into getting three points against Estonia.

“So we will be looking to fly out of the blocks and kill the game off as quickly as we can. We don't want to give them a goal, give them any hope. We want to be ruthless.”

Gerrard remembers with satisfaction England’s last performance, a 3-0 victory over Russia at Wembley that made the football world stand up and take notice. So no wonder the Three Lions are in confident mood this weekend.

The Liverpool star said: “When I got in the car after the last game it was with a satisfaction that the team had played well twice on the trot and we got the six points we wanted and the changing room was a good place to be. Now we want the same thing – six more points from these two games to take into the final match against Croatia.

“I’m convinced we can do it. I think the mental strength has improved but also the thought of under-achieving drives you on. We know we've got good players and talent. If we don't achieve something we'll be gutted.”