Chelsea ace Lampard: Get behind England

He told News of the World: “The fans would have wanted to vent their frustration and we, as players, would have had to accept that. But we are professionals. We must always stand tall, hold our heads up, take the flak and walk through it.

“Yes, it would be a massive test of our character but we must face it and come through it. Obviously it will be difficult.

“No one ever wants to be booed or abused. But we know that in the current climate it’s a situation that’s impossible to ignore.

“There was a very real prospect we’d be walking out on Wednesday night in front of 90,000 England fans who wanted to vent their anger and disappointment.

“There’s still the chance that the mood of the England crowd will change if we don’t get the result we want, that we need against Croatia.

“So we must be ready to take it and deal with it.”

Lampard added: “I have endured a lot of abuse in my time.

“First when I was at West Ham and now that I am at Chelsea.

“I have developed a thick skin and I can deal with it now.

“It just doesn’t sting me anymore like it did in my early years.

“But it will hurt me if the Wembley crowd turns against us.

“We have the best fans in the world and if they get behind us they can make a huge difference.

“Having said that if we don’t get through then a lot of people are going to complain, will want to have a go and we must be big and brave enough to accept it.”