Gerrard says stars must perform
Steven Gerrard says the defeat to Northern Ireland will stop England's stars becoming complacent in Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Austria.
The shock 1-0 defeat in Belfast on 7 September led to widespread criticism of England's players.
"Maybe the team has picked itself of late but after recent performances, the so-called big names could be more on their toes now," said Gerrard.
"They will not be taking their positions for granted."
Gerrard said he was among the players fearing the axe for the final qualifying matches against Austria at the weekend and Poland next Wednesday.
Asked if he felt he could have been dropped, he said: "I think so. Everyone who played against Northern Ireland will be worried about whether they are going to be picked for the next two games.
"I don't think many players performed in those two games and I'm no different. It was a worrying time in that dressing room after that game.
"It was the lowest point I've had with England."
The Liverpool captain said he hoped the team would put on a show for the fans during the next two matches.
"I think you will see that in the performances to come and it will be healthy."
"Do we owe the nation a performance? Yes, big time," he said.
"The most important thing in the next two games is points but it would be nice to entertain as well and pay back the fans for that embarrassing defeat in Belfast."
If fit, Gerrard is certain to retain his place in Sven-Goran Eriksson's team but the England coach is facing a dilemma over his central-defensive partnership.
Fit-again Sol Campbell is available but the Arsenal man may be left out at the expense of the combination of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
England are expected to revert to a 4-4-2 system after Eriksson was heavily criticised for using a five-man midfield in the defeat against Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, striker Jermain Defoe said the competition for places up front is healthy for England - even though the Tottenham man is likely to lose out to Peter Crouch when Eriksson decides who to partner Michael Owen up front in place of the suspended Wayne Rooney on Saturday.
"It is difficult because Michael and Wayne are both great players, Darren Bent is on fire and Peter Crouch is playing in the Champions League," said Defoe.
"For some reason we all seem to be playing well at the same time, so I guess it is tough for the manager but good for the country."
On Wednesday Gerrard insisted the squad were happy with Eriksson's system - and rejected claims the squad had lost faith in the coach.
He said: "It is up to the manager which formation he goes with but I find it fairly easy to play in any formation.
"You need to be able to adapt but the manager has said he will go back to 4-4-2 and the players are happy with that.
"There was a lot of debate about formations going into the last four games.
"But if you look around the dressing room and see the quality, no matter what formation we played against Northern Ireland we should have won the game - and that goes for the same against Austria.
"To win in any international, whether it is in Belfast or Brazil, you need individuals to perform - and there were a lot of individuals who did not do that in Belfast, myself included."
On the reported dressing room unrest, Gerrard stated: "I think that is complete rubbish. He has certainly got my backing and all the other players I have spoken to - I think the whole squad supports the manager.
"What has been said about what happened in the dressing room has been blown out of all proportion."
