Gerrard keen to play unity card

At 7.50pm in Wembley's home dressing room on Wednesday, Steven Gerrard will proudly tie on the England armband and, at last, a tourniquet will be applied to the haemorrhaging of the team's confidence and credibility.

After all the fallout from the John Terry affair, Gerrard is determined that England regain the public's respect in Wednesday's friendly with Egypt.

If a feeling grows that the England captaincy is now "the Impossible Job'', rather than the manager's post, Gerrard never demurred when arriving at The Grove on Monday to be informed by Fabio Capello that the midfielder would be doing the Wembley honours.

"I was delighted,'' said Gerrard. "I'm looking forward to leading the boys out.'' One of the brighter, more self-aware characters in Capello's squad, Gerrard is acutely conscious of the responsibilities that go with the England shirt, let alone armband. "We are role models for kids,'' said the Liverpool captain.

At a time when England crave direction in a moral maze, Capello has yet to set a tariff of which transgressions trigger which punishment.

The last time the Football Association attempted to draw up an order of merit for offences, the clampdown swiftly dissolved into chaos when the then chief executive, Mark Palios, welcomed James Beattie into the England hotel before having to expel him on realising the striker was banned for drink-driving.

If the exact small-print on what constitutes unacceptable behaviour remains unclear, England's players do understand that Capello will not tolerate any indiscipline and that eviction will follow excess.

"The manager let us know that again, as soon as he saw us at our first meeting on the training pitch [at London Colney on Monday],'' said Gerrard. "It was short and sweet. He reiterated that we have responsibilities as players, both on and off the pitch.''

Gerrard's own CV is hardly free of blemish. Although he was cleared last year of affray following an incident in a Southport nightclub, Liverpool's captain has accepted that he needs to be more careful where and when he socialises.

All the players know the scrutiny they are under, particularly in the wake of Terry's off-field antics that cost him the captaincy and England their reserve left-back in Wayne Bridge.

"It's on the front and back pages of every newspaper and on every TV channel so it's impossible to ignore,'' added Gerrard. "The World Cup is very close and we know the spotlight will be even more on us because of what has happened recently. Sometimes it is difficult but we've got to behave.''

On the eve of his 78th cap, Gerrard dismissed the idea of any disunity among a group of individuals, some of whom, like Gerrard, Terry, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Emile Heskey, David James and David Beckham, have been international colleagues for years.

"We do know each other inside out now. The team spirit and togetherness have not been affected. But this is a fantastic opportunity to show everyone we're still united, we're still a strong team and we've got a very good chance come the summer.''

England need the fans to be united behind them. Gerrard called on supporters to refrain from deriding Terry, probably a forlorn hope. "It's really important the fans give us massive support,'' said Gerrard. "I expect JT to be himself, a very good player and a majestic leader out there.''

The opportunity to lead his country for an eighth time, so moving alongside Michael Owen, Gerry Francis, Mick Mills and Terry Butcher in the list of England captains, means so much to Gerrard.

As a child, he willingly endured his father's wrath by briefly wearing a Manchester United shirt because it bore the name of Bryan Robson, the leader of the Three Lions going into Italia 90. Spotting his son cloaked in United red on the streets of Huyton, Gerrard's Liverpool-supporting father admonished him with a "what will the neighbours think?''

Gerrard understands why the armband stirs such strong emotion. "I don't think we make too much of it. To be captain of England is a very proud feeling. Every kid dreams of being England captain. I was no different.''

Gerrard could not comprehend other countries simply tossing the armband to the oldest or most capped. "That's disrespecting the captaincy. You have to earn the right to be England captain. It's massive over here and rightly so.''

He knows he will hand the armband to Rio Ferdinand when the defender's back spasms ease. "Rio's a vital player for us.''

The wry streak that occasionally mixes in with Gerrard's innate defiance surfaced during talk about another vital player.

When it was suggested that an injury to Wayne Rooney would plunge "the whole country into mourning'', Gerrard retorted: "What does that say about the rest of us? Are we all ---- then? No, I understand your question. Everyone will have their fingers crossed that he can avoid injury because, on current form, he's the best player in the world. I agree with Alex Ferguson that he is now in that bracket of 'world-class'.''

Capello will not field Rooney in his prolific Manchester United position, preferring to use him off a main striker. This means Gerrard will continue floating in from the left and Capello's "attacking midfielder'' understood the coach's thinking.

"Even before Wayne hit this top form playing right up at the top [for United], he was showing majestic form for England playing off a striker. I don't think it matters if Rooney plays as a No 9 or No 10. He's unstoppable where ever he plays. I'm happy playing in the role I'm playing.''

Reaching 30 on the eve of the tournament, South Africa will be Gerrard's last World Cup and he is leaving nothing to chance. No excuses, no distractions. "My wife won't be there,'' said Gerrard. "It's my decision. She's got two kids. The kids will be in school. It [South Africa] is a long way away. But if we get to the semis or the final, she deserves to come and see me.''

Reacting to a critical line of questioning about the WAGs, Gerrard's wry side again blended with spikiness. "Is she allowed to come to the semis or the final!? Is that OK with you?!'' In healing self-inflicted wounds, England need such defiance on Wednesday night.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the views or position of Liverpool Football Club.