Gerrard fears a Belarus wind-up

Steven Gerrard fears Belarus will try every trick in the book to put a dent in England's World Cup qualifying campaign in Minsk tomorrow night.

Belarus striker Vitaly Bulyga has already attempted to rile Wayne Rooney by claiming the Manchester United striker has "weaknesses" they can exploit, and Gerrard expects similarly underhand tactics during the game.

British teams have failed to keep their cool in Belarus before, with Craig Bellamy sent off for throwing a punch in Wales' 2-1 defeat there in 2000, while Scotland's Under-21s had two red-carded in a bad-tempered 3-2 loss three years ago.

Gerrard is determined that England will not fall into the same trap and will spell out to his team-mates the importance of retaining their composure against Bernd Stange's team.

Liverpool captain Gerrard told Standard Sport: "It is important not to react to provocation. These teams can 'play the game' with off-the-ball stuff.

"It is important to stay focused, stay together, and try to achieve what we are going to Belarus for, which is three points towards qualifying for the World Cup.