Fear factor scares Lamps

Frank Lampard today admitted England have to put their fears of playing at Wembley behind them this weekend to ease their path to the World Cup.

The Chelsea star, who has on occasion been booed himself at the stadium when playing at international level, agrees with his boss Fabio Capello that self-doubt has crept into the players' psyche at England's home.

But Lampard is counting on the feel-good factor generated by the team's stirring triumph in Croatia to inspire both the 90,000 crowd and the England players for the visit of Kazakhstan in Saturday's World Cup qualifier.

He said: "There's an element of truth about players having a bit of fear at Wembley. When we play with any sense of doubt in our minds we are not going to play as well as we would if we were full of confidence.

"But, after that little boost against Croatia, I think the fans will bring that to the game and then it's up to the players. Being an England player you have to be strong."

Last month, Capello caused a stir when he insisted that England "play better away from home" and noted how his team struggled when "sometimes the crowd whistle after the first mistake." The subsequent 4-1 win in Zagreb seemed to back up his assertion.

Lampard felt he now needed to raise his own game too, now that he appears to be back to his best for Chelsea. He added: "I'm big enough to say that, for the last couple of years, I haven't done as well as I should have for England.

"But, after Croatia this is a start for me to kick on again and show the sort of form I feel I can produce."