Lampard shies away from Gerrard riddle

England midfielder Frank Lampard has brushed aside the age-old question about whether he and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard can operate effectively in the same team.

Speculation suggests coach Fabio Capello is set to restore Gerrard to central midfield alongside his Chelsea counterpart for Saturday's Wembley encounter against Kazakhstan.

The pair have struggled to reproduce their sparkling club form at international level when playing together but Lampard did not want to get into a discussion about the dynamics of their partnership.

"It is very important to talk about the team - we can look into the wrong issues," he told a press conference televised by Sky Sports News.

"We are breaking it down much too much. I'm not trying to find issues with certain players. We (he and Gerrard) haven't really done quite what we could do over the last couple of years.

"We have been playing at a high level for our clubs and people expect the same for England and it does not always happen.

"But the Croatia performance (when England won 4-1 in Zagreb in their last qualifier) shows that when we play as a team that is what is important.

"The manager is focused on that very much. The manager will pick the team and the players are there to play as a group.

"If you look too much into things you can find problems."

Will Capello partner Lampard and Gerrard together in England's World Cup qualifier with Kazakhstan?

Lampard knows Saturday's opponents will look to frustrate their hosts as much as possible and that could affect the attitude of expectant fans at Wembley.

"It is a task to break them down but once you have broken them down you can go on and get the result you want," he added.

"For any team - England or your club - you have periods feeling comfortable playing away and periods when you feel comfortable playing at home.

"Hopefully, with that feeling of confidence which came from the Croatia game we can show our intentions from the start of the game and I think the fans will respond to that."

Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch is pleased to be back in the squad after being overlooked for last month's games against Andorra and Croatia.

Crouch has hit a good run of form after leaving Liverpool for Fratton Park in the summer.

Crouch said on Setanta Sports News: "I always said when I was at Liverpool I wasn't playing as many games as I needed to be playing.

"I always felt confident that when I was playing regularly I'd score goals and do well enough to be in the England set-up.

"Now I am doing that and it's proving me right at the moment but I have just got to keep that going.

"I am not the type of person who would sit there and sulk or throw my arms in the air. I would rather get down and do the business for my club.

"The manager has proved in the past, he has left players out at times, but if they've played well, worked hard and done well at club level they will be straight back in."

Crouch is joined in the England squad by Portsmouth team-mate Jermain Defoe, with whom he has struck up a good relationship.

He added: "We have been lucky enough to set each other up and we play well together as a partnership. It certainly helps that we play together."

Crouch claims spirits in the camp are high as a result of the win in Zagreb.

The 27-year-old said: "I think there is more of a spring in the step after Croatia win, it is a difficult place to go and to win in the manner we did has got to breed confidence in the whole squad.

"The lads are looking forward to getting out there and hopefully continuing that good form."

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