Gerrard looks for Rooney to sow seeds of revival

It is not just England's recent results that have hurt Steven Gerrard - no wins in four games including the hugely damaging defeat to Croatia which he missed - but also the manner of them. "We have to find a way of playing a lot better than we have been," the England midfielder said yesterday.

A key to that could be the burgeoning play of his fellow Liverpudlian Wayne Rooney. "Wayne has come into a bit of form of late and that is great news for me playing alongside him," he said. "When I do watch Man United, I tend to concentrate on what Wayne does, where he makes his runs so that I can try and exploit that for England."

The last United match Gerrard watched was the brushing aside of Bolton Wanderers last Saturday in which Rooney scored twice. There was added encouragement in the way the striker dominated Talal Ben Haim - who will be at the heart of Israel's defence when they line up to face England in the vital European Championship qualifier in Tel Aviv. "I was actually watching the game and I'm thinking, 'You best save that for when England play against him. Take it easy for Man United and do it for England'," Gerrard added.

Part of the deep frustration for England has not only been the dependence on Rooney - "everyone thought he could win the World Cup on his own," Gerrard said - but the injury problems he took into that tournament. Now they are over. "He's one of the best in the world," Gerrard added. "And it's just great to have him 100 per cent fit and available because he could win these two games on his own."

After Israel England have the less taxing trip to Barcelona to face Group E minnows Andorra. Six points would transform their prospects. "Third place is not good enough," the 26-year-old Liverpool captain said of England's current group standing. "We need to get up to the top of the table as quickly as possible and there is a great chance over the next few days."

If that does not happen then England face the real prospect of missing out on the Euros. "I am trying not to think about that," Gerrard said. "I am thinking about us qualifying and I am confident we can. But we need to start winning matches really quickly because the results of late have not been good enough."

England have not won since Macedonia were beaten 1-0 in Skopje last September. "That's the frustrating thing," Gerrard said of the time gap between international matches. "You get a few bad results, bad performances and you have to wait an awful long time for the next big game to come about." It means that criticism has to be "taken on the chin".

"If I get criticised I just try and prove people wrong and I think that is what this team has to do," Gerrard said. "It has to prove to a lot of people - the media, the supporters and everyone out there watching us - that we can become a good team. Everyone knows we have fantastic players and now we have to turn that into a good team."

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