Fans had right to boo Cole - Gerrard

Steven Gerrard insists 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 broadcast by Sky Sports News on Monday 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."

He added: "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.

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

England defender Matthew Upson believes the booing of Cole drew the team together.

"It can be positive, it makes us pull together," he said. "We all encouraged Ash, it's unfortunate that it happened and everyone is going to make a mistake for England at some stage, you move on, put it behind you and look forward to the next opportunity. It's one of those things and the team will be strong with it."