FANS HAD RIGHT TO BOO - GERRARD

Gerrard - says fans are entitled to voice opinion.

Steven Gerrard insists England fans did have the right to boo Ashley Cole following his mistake against Kazakhstan on Saturday.

The Chelsea defender's poor pass allowed the visitors to score at Wembley, and he was then loudly jeered by supporters whenever he touched the ball.

When asked at a press conference on Monday afternoon if fans were entitled to boo players, Gerrard said: "Of course.

"Any supporter, when you pay money, you deserve to voice your opinion. But we need their support. If we're going to be successful in the future, we need them with us.

"It's not going to help Ashley and it's not going to help the team but the support we got was fantastic. They stayed with us throughout the game.

"He (Cole) is disappointed and the players are disappointed," Gerrard told a press conference broadcast by Sky Sports News.

Cole will not have an immediate chance to make amends for his error against Belarus on Wednesday because of a hamstring injury.

But Gerrard is confident the left-back's confidence will not be adversely affected by the fans' reaction.

"You've got to get on with it," Gerrard continued. "You've got to take it as a man. Ashley's a big character and the players are here to support him."

Defender Matthew Upson admitted players' confidence can be badly dented if their own fans start to jeer them.

"It is the fans' right to do what they want," said Upson.

"No-one is asking them to come and clap for 90 minutes. But mistakes happen and it doesn't help when the fans jump on someone's back.

"Without doubt it can affect players' confidence.

"But part of being an elite sportsman is reacting when you make mistakes.

"It is something everyone has to do and Ashley knows that.

"He will cope with it mentally. I spoke to him afterwards and he was fine."

Ironically, Upson does feel that, as a collective unit, the England side may have benefited from the negative reaction.

In such circumstances, the team tend to unite behind a common cause, forging a bond that cannot easily be broken.

"It is difficult," said Upson.

"It can affect the whole team but in a way it can be positive as well because it makes you pull together.

"It is natural for the fans to expect a lot from the team. We have one of the strongest groups of players in the world. We play in fantastic stadiums. There is a pressure and expectancy on us.

"We have to cope with that. The players would just ask the fans not to get too carried away. We are still in the process of learning what the manager wants. Results have gone well so far, so what happened was very unfortunate."

Gerrard also insisted he and Frank Lampard will keep working on their midfield partnership for England until they get it right.

And the Liverpool captain also says he is prepared to keep switching positions if it helps England's cause of qualifying for the World Cup in 2010.

If England manager Fabio Capello sticks to the 4-4-2 system which finished against Kazakhstan, Gerrard could find himself out wide on the left against Belarus on Wednesday.

That is the position he played in the goalless draw against the Czech Republic in August, after which Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp complained that England were wasting one of their top talents.

But Gerrard was confident that England's biggest conundrum could be solved.

He said: "We've (he and Lampard) just got to keep working hard and trying to make it happen. It's pointless giving up on it and saying it can't work. We've got a good manager there to help us. Just keep working hard and keep plugging away at it.

"I think this manager is going to keep changing personnel and tactics and formations before and during games so I don't think it is always going to be me and Frank in the middle."

Gerrard has played 69 times for his country and scored 13 goals while Chelsea's Lampard has scored 14 times in 65 appearances.

But you can count on one hand the times they have performed together as well for their country as they do week in and week out for their clubs.

There has even been talk that Gerrard could be incorporated at right full-back for his country, a position he filled for Liverpool towards the end of the 2005 Champions League final.

On the possibility of changing positions, Gerrard admitted: "I'm quite used to it. It happens to me at the club, it's happened throughout my England career. I'm prepared to deal with that. If the manager wants me to do a job I'll do it."