Double blow for in-form England

Injury-struck John Terry and Ashley Cole will miss England's World Cup qualifying game against Belarus.

John Terry, left, and Ashley Cole will not play on Wednesday.

Steven Gerrard admits the England fans have every right to vent their frustration, but urged them to stand by the team with a bright future ahead. Fabio Capello's side face a tricky test in Belarus on Wednesday, but are optimistic after three wins out of three in their World Cup qualifying campaign. The only downside is the reaction of supporters, who have not been overly impressed by some of their performances. Fans jeered again during Saturday's 5-1 win over Kazakhstan, with Ashley Cole singled out after his mistake led to the visitors' goal. Cole, along with John Terry, misses the Belarus trip with a hamstring injury and Gerrard believes it is a blow. "They are two big players and we are strong with them in the squad," he said. "He [Cole] is disappointed and the players are disappointed [by the booing]. But you have to get on with it; we are all men and he's a big character. It has happened to others and it will happen again. "Any supporter, when you pay money, you deserve to voice your opinion, but we need their support and if we are to be successful we need them with us. We urge them to stay with us because we do believe we are going places." Matthew Upson, who stepped in for Terry in the defence against Kazakhstan, says the Cole incident has only united the squad even more. "No one is asking them [the fans] to clap and cheer for 90 minutes," he added. "All we ask for is leniency and understanding when someone makes a mistake. "It's unfortunate it happened, but something like this can be positive, make us pull together. The team will be strong after it. "It's natural for the fans to expect a lot from their team. We have one of the strongest groups of players in the world, the stadium we play in is fantastic so there is going to be pressure and expectation and it's something we have to cope with. "We are still in the process of building, but we are on the right track." Upson also backed the Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney to bully Belarus, whose striker Vitaly Bulyga claimed he was not scared of the England frontman. Rooney scored twice against Kazakhstan. "One thing he is not is weak," warned Upson. "If they [Belarus] feel like spicing it up, that's up to them. We will be focused on what we need to achieve and those comments aren't going to affect Wayne's performance." [e-mail]