ENGLAND FANS NEED TEAM SPIRIT JUST LIKE STERLING

IT was nice to feel the Wembley turf beneath my feet again, especially alongside so many former colleagues, but in all honesty I felt a little unworthy! I was invited to join the 1,000th game celebrations by taking to the pitch at half-time on Thursday evening because I captained England. I also won 43 caps after making my debut against France in 1992, aged 25, but I was surrounded by so many greats of the game and others who won more than 50. It was an honour to be there. Also there from Arsenal were Tony Adams, Sol Campbell and Dave Seaman. Tony and I had a chat about England’s defence and we were concerned about how they can switch off. Montenegro barely made it a contest but they could have sneaked a goal or two. Having arrived at Wembley and received a silver plate with my legacy number (I was No 1,039), I was told I was the eighth oldest outfield player to appear for England. I am also the ninth oldest to score for the Three Lions. I was nearly 34 when I netted against Malta in 2000, which surprised me! I heard the booing of Joe Gomez while in the stands. Any fans who joined in made a mistake. I suspect they were booing because they paid good money to see Raheem Sterling. Sterling is one of the best forwards in the world right now so they want to watch him in an England shirt — but in the same way we called on him to realise he needs to become Team England when he joins up with his national team, the fans need to understand that, too.