Manager Capello has suggested that fear is holding England back while Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has claimed the expectation placed on Wayne Rooney’s shoulders has stifled his contribution. Rather than hold them back, however, Gerrard believes any fear should be channelled to push the team forward.

“The fear of not winning drives you on,” he said.

“We have come here to stay in this tournament to the end.

“We want more.

“We want a performance against Slovenia.

“But the key is to try and live without fear.

“There is pressure and fear. You are playing for England and you have massive support.

“But it doesn’t help to go on to the pitch and play with that fear. You have to go on to the pitch and try to relax and be patient. Then the performance will come.

“We need to change the perception of how we have done so far. We want to make the nation proud and happy.”

Much of the pre-match talk has been about John Terry’s comments at Sunday’s press conference in which he suggested the players want Capello to make changes to tactics and the line-up.

Preferring not to dwell on the matter, Gerrard said it is time to move on and focus only on Slovenia.

“I’ve watched John’s interview and he is obviously a passionate player,” said the midfielder.

“He said what he said but it is time to move on.

“We’ve got a very important game and it is important as captain that I switch my attention and focus to this game.”

With regard to Terry indicating he would like to see his Chelsea teammate Joe Cole restored to the starting line-up Gerrard insisted no pressure has been placed on Capello by the players.

“The manager picks the team he thinks is best to do the job,” said Gerrard.

“I don’t think the players are in any position to question who the manager picks.

“Whoever he picks, we go with that and give it our best shot.”