England captain Steven Gerrard has admitted that if he was a fan he would boo the side at Wembley when they face Hungary on Wednesday night (England 2/7, draw 4/1, Hungary 11/1).
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the friendly, the Liverpool skipper believes that there will be a mixed reception for the players.
England drew plenty of criticism after the squad failed to live up to the high expectations placed upon them ahead of the World Cup in South Africa this summer.
The Three Lions drew their opening game with the USA after a Robert Green error gifted the underdogs the equaliser.
England then went on to draw with Algeria in an extremely disappointing performance before they scraped past Slovenia 1-0.
The 1966 World Cup winners were then beaten convincingly by Germany in the knockout stages and since that game, the side has come under heavy criticism.
Gerrard has stated that England will have to accept the boos on Wednesday night after a poor World Cup.
He said: “I’m sure there will be boos at times tomorrow night but we have to deal with that, we have to be men and take it on the chin.
“We deserve it. We let them (the fans) down in the summer. So we have to get on with that and hopefully in time we can show them we are a good team, there is a togetherness there and hopefully we can make them happy in the future,” he added.
England boss Fabio Capello was blamed by the media and the fans for not doing better in South Africa.
The Italian was criticised for not playing players like Gerrard in the positions in which they regularly feature for their clubs.
Capello wanted to continue working with the national side and is now looking to build towards the European Championships in 2012 (England 9/1 to win the 2012 European Championships).
Gerrard has stated that he still believes in the manager despite the poor World Cup tournament.
He said: “I’ve got big faith in this manager as I’ve said all along.
“I think it would be very stupid and naïve not to still have that confidence in him moving forward. He’s a fantastic manager.”
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