Gerrad We Must Be Realistic.

England captain Steven Gerrard has urged
supporters not to pile pressure on them
ahead of next year's World Cup.
Victory over Poland at Wembley on Tuesday
secured their place at the finals in Brazil but
Gerrard is keen to manage expectations
after experiencing disappointment at
previous tournaments.
"From my experience of going in to World
Cups, people talk about golden generations
and that we are one of the favourites, that
this will be our year and stuff like that," he
said.
"That creates a false pressure, and unfair
pressure because it's a very tough
tournament to go in to. This time around
people will be more realistic.
"I think the important thing is now that
people don't get carried away and start
putting us with teams like Spain and
thinking that everyone is fine and we are a
fantastic team.
"I think we are a good team, I think we can
still get better, I think we have got a good
blend of youth and experience.
"Against Poland first half we were fantastic,
but second half we showed we still have to
improve to compete with the best."
The Liverpool skipper remains upbeat about
England's chances at the World Cup though
and is keen for them to progress past the
quarter-final stage, something they have
not done since Italia 90.
"Everyone wants to try and improve on that
quarter-final, that is the hurdle we have
struggled to get over," he added.
"And that is the reason why the message I
want to send out is that we need to
improve, keep getting stronger, if we are to
get over that hurdle."