Fans had 'every right' to boo Cole

STEVEN Gerrard insisted yesterday that 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 yesterday 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 said.

Cole will not have an immediate chance to make amends for his error against Belarus tomorrow 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."

Meanwhile, Matthew Upson insists he is good enough to play for England – even though he must compete with the captain and vice-captain for a place in the team.

Upson seems certain to win his 11th cap tomorrow after John Terry was ruled out having failed to recover from the back injury that prevented him from facing Kazakhstan.

The 29-year-old West Ham man was once at the end of a very long line of central defenders hoping to wear the Three Lions. Now Upson appears to be the first-choice replacement after being called into Fabio Capello's starting line-up for the win over Andorra last month when Rio Ferdinand was missing and then replacing Terry against Kazakhstan. The one-time Arsenal player is adamant he is worthy of a place – and he does not regard himself as a mere stand-in any more.

"Maybe previously I have not believed in myself enough," he said. "I did not think I deserved to be here. But when you feel like that, you only end up going one way. Now I do believe I deserve to be here. I think I can step in and do the job.

"Just because John Terry is the captain and Rio Ferdinand is the vice-captain does not automatically mean they are going to get picked."

Upson must feel quietly confident of playing a major role in England's bid to reach South Africa in two years' time. While Ferdinand's absences are rare, Terry has been a more frequent visitor to the treatment table in recent times.

Terry was missing on a number of occasions during the ill-fated Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, most notably against Russia in Moscow and Croatia at Wembley, both of which were lost when a draw would have steered England into the finals.

At one time, there would have been no need to worry. Jonathan Woodgate, Ledley King, Sol Campbell and Jamie Carragher were all adequate replacements with plenty of experience at the highest level.

But slowly that strength in depth has disappeared. The fitness of King and Woodgate cannot be trusted, age has finally caught up with Campbell, while Carragher was not prepared to sit on the bench forever and promptly retired, claiming he was not bothered about playing for England in the first place.

Aside from Upson, Everton's Joleon Lescott is the other central defender in Capello's squad, with Wes Brown earmarked for the right-back role.

Delve any deeper and you end up with Under-21 duo Steven Taylor and David Wheater, plus Micah Richards, once viewed as the great hope of English defenders but immediately discarded by Capello, who has detected some previously unseen flaw in the Manchester City youngster.

None of this inspires any confidence, especially if Terry's combative style is starting to catch up with him.

Not that Upson can afford to worry too much about that. "It is a blow to lose John but I guess it is a hazard of the game," he said. "That is what the squad is here for.

"We have enough strength in depth. We just have to pull together and make sure we approach Belarus in the same manner as always."

England know they stand on the brink of history given they have never started a World Cup qualifying campaign with four successive wins.

Equally, a draw would not be a disaster as Croatia have already dropped five points, including three to England, while Ukraine do not look any better.