FANS MUST TURN UP HEAT ON FOES

ENGLAND fans have a massive part to play against Germany tonight. Support can take us to glory

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity now to win a major trophy and if the supporters do their bit, we have every chance.

Beat the Germans and then you can start singing “Football’s Coming Home” for real.

This is the biggest game of the tournament bar the final but the fans have got to stay with the team for the whole game.

Remember, this could be the only time you ever get to see England win something in your lifetime.

If we lose and go out of the tournament and you want to boo, okay, you have every right to, because with this generation that would be failure.

But until then, stay with the team. It affects the players 100 per cent when the fans boo.

Take it from me. I’ve played in England teams when the going has got tough and the fans have got on our backs.

I never felt I played that well for England so I’m not really talking about me. But I could see it in my team-mates. In better players than me.

You can tell when your team-mates are struggling and when the fans start booing, suddenly their confidence drains away.

The fans play a massive part but they don’t always realise it. Sometimes we’re too fickle as supporters. Nowadays, fans watch Premier League football every day of the week. It’s allaction, high-tempo, gung-ho football. Exciting. Passionate.

International football is different. When it gets to England, it’s slowed down and it feels boring.

We see John Stones or Harry

Maguire playing it across the back four and we don’t accept it. But we should. Every country does it.

We want to see the ball go forward quickly. We want that pace and tempo we see in the

Premier League.

But international football is possession football. We need to be more patient.

So get behind the players. It makes a difference. These opportunities come around once in a blue moon.

Look at the draw. If we beat Germany, we could not have picked a better route to the final.

I was worried about Holland. They score goals. But they just lost to Czech Republic and we beat them comfortably. Wembley will be pretty full of fans for the Germany game and if we can get the place rocking the atmosphere will be amazing.

We have to make it as hot as possible. Let the Germans know they’re in a real battle. That’s what supporting your team is all about.

Don’t boo if England go through a sticky patch in the game. Support them. Get louder. Lift their spirits. I promise you they will respond.

We all get frustrated. We shout at the TV. But please, be patient and you might just see England deliver something special.

This is not the Germany of the 1990s. It’s not Andreas Moller and Lothar Matthaus and Jurgen Klinsmann.

The Germans are a good team. But they have major weaknesses. Defensively they are poor. If we have a go at them, they will crumble.

And as England fans we all have a part to play in how it goes.