Andorra oration start of Austrian dream – Steven Gerrard

Sep 11 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

BEATING the likes of Andorra normally barely registers with anyone harbouring genuine ambitions of success on the international stage.

But for Steve McClaren and Steven Gerrard, England’s 3-0 defeat of the minnows in March prompted a sea-change that has proven mutually beneficial for both coach and his vice-captain.

The rousing half-time speech from McClaren that followed a dismal goalless first half may well be judged as a watershed moment in this Euro 2008 qualifying campaign should England’s Group E revival reach its desired goal of a berth in next summer’s finals.

However, it’s Gerrard’s performance during that second half that may ultimately have the greater resonance.

Finally employed in his favoured attacking central midfield role, the Liverpool skipper single-handedly dragged England to victory, scoring twice in a display that underlined why McClaren has since realised Gerrard must remain the beating heart of his country’s efforts.

“Believe it or not I think the Andorra game was probably one of the my hardest internationals I’ve played in,” says Gerrard, who has declared himself fit for tomorrow’s crunch clash with Russia at Wembley.

“The crowd were right on us early doors and the team weren’t playing well and we find it hard to break a team down who, with all due respect, we should be walking all over.

“That was the first time I’d been given my favoured midfield role for the national team. Under the previous manager I’d been moved around an awful lot and it was difficult to find a consistency for myself personally.

But the manager’s been great with me. Since he’s taken over he’s had a lot of belief in me and wants me to express myself in the way I do for Liverpool and I feel my performances have improved under Steve.”

Of the Andorra game, Gerrard adds: “There was a big rallying call from the manager but also from the leading players. It was a difficult time at half-time knowing it was 0-0 and it was a big three points that we needed.

“Teams need to go through situations like that to improve and move forward and we are definitely a lot stronger from that rallying call.”

The reaction to Gerrard’s battle to be fit to face Israel at the weekend demonstrated how much his stock has risen with England during the past six months.

Until recently, the presence of Frank Lampard in the team was too often the reason for the Liverpool skipper being shunted all over the field, employed from right-back to striker but rarely in his most favoured, effective central position.

Now former golden boy Lampard finds himself battling for the privilege of playing alongside Gerrard, although a thigh injury means the Chelsea man won’t be considered tomorrow evening.

Instead, McClaren is now set to keep faith in Gareth Barry given last night’s news that Owen Hargreaves has also failed to recover from a thigh injury.

Barry and Gerrard combined well at the weekend thanks to a familiarity of which few were aware.

“The secret is that we’ve known each other for a long time, from the Euros in 2000 and we’re good friends off the pitch,” says the Liverpool man. “So the communication was there from the off.

“The balance was right because he’s left-footed and I’m a right-footer. It just seemed to work. We’d only worked on it for a couple of days before the game. We just managed to link up straightaway.”

According to Gerrard, the successful return on Saturday of both Barry and Emile Heskey after long spells in the international wilderness and the continued emergence of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Micah Richards emphasised the growing depth of talent available to McClaren.

“That’s what we want,” he says. “Obviously, I want to play and be selfish, but a team plays well when there’s pressure from behind the starting 11 places. Then you know you’re going to get performances out of the people who are starting.

It’s getting to the stage now where there’s two or three people fighting for each position, so the people that are starting have got to perform to a certain level to stay in the team, otherwise someone’s going to step into your shoes and take that position off you.

“We have had it at certain times, but I think the situation we’re in now means it’s more intense and the quality is getting higher and higher.”

Despite England’s still precarious position in Group E, Gerrard is confident the present squad has the potential to be the finest set of players with which he has been involved for his country.

“If this team clicks, the quality is better than the squads that have gone into big tournaments in the past,” he adds. “There’s more quality there.

“I know it’s cheap talk for me to say that. The most important thing is for us players to do our talking on the pitch.

“But it’s obvious when I’m training with these players and playing with them, you can see signs. You look around the dressing room and see the quality.

“We’ve got to be better. We’ve underachieved of late. It’s so obvious to say that. We need to deliver for this country. The players that we’ve got, we’ve got to make the most of it.”

Delivering another performance against Russia tomorrow at Wembley will go a long way towards securing a place in the finals in Austria and Switzerland next summer.