Gerrard warns team-mates

Fabio Capello (photo) has impressed on England the need to maintain their discipline at the World Cup finals and captain Steven Gerrard has followed suit by urging his team-mates, and Wayne Rooney in particular, to keep their tempers in check.

The issue of squad discipline has been a recurring theme for the England squad in recent days after Rooney was booked for dissent in a friendly against local side Platinum Stars on Monday. The match referee, Jeff Selogilwe, warned the striker that similar behaviour could result in a red card when the finals get underway.

Rooney knows only too well the trauma of being dismissed at the World Cup having been shown a red card in a quarter-final defeat to Portugal in 2006 for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho. England also famously lost David Beckham to an early bath when losing to Argentina in the 1998 quarter-finals while Ray Wilkins was sent off in 1986 for throwing a ball at the referee.

With reports claiming that match officials for England's opening game with USA have been given a crash course in English swear words, Gerrard has instructed his players to maintain an acceptable level of discipline in order to avoid compromising the team's chances.

"You don't swear at them, do you?" Gerrard said. "That's the answer to that. In this day and age I think it's important to show the referees some respect. You don't use any language because then you'll be booked and the whole team suffers. You don't want to fall into that trap.''

Rooney's temperament has once again been brought into focus after the Platinum Stars game as the striker has shown a tendency to erupt in anger throughout his career. While he was not booked in the qualification campaign, USA defender Jay DeMerit has said the team will seek to rile Rooney in Saturday's game in Rustenburg.

USA coach Bob Bradley has denied that his team will employ such a strategy, but even if Rooney is targeted, Gerrard believes his team-mate should cope with any provocation that comes his way, especially given that Capello has made a point of ordering his players to keep their emotions in check.

"I'm not sure whether he'll be targeted, we'll wait and see," Gerrard said. "Wayne's experienced enough now to deal with it if he is.

"Wayne understands we need him on the pitch, he's a very important player, and every player has been warned by the manager and coaching staff to channel their frustration in the right way and not get involved with the referees or with any silly challenges.

"We've had experience of losing big players at important times and we need to keep everyone on the pitch. I think Wayne understands. He is a fantastic player and we don't want to take any fire away from him.

"He always plays on the edge but Wayne has to control his emotions and take it out on opposition teams rather than referees. The manager stresses the importance of always having 11 men on the pitch and this tournament is going to be difficult enough so if we lose someone it will only complicate things further."

It is Gerrard who will lead England out in Rustenburg after the knee injury that resulted in Rio Ferdinand's withdrawal from the squad, and the Liverpool skipper is proud to be given the chance to captain his country at the World Cup.

"I'm honoured to be leading the lads out in a couple of days," Gerrard said. "The first I heard of Rio's injury and that I would be captain, I had mixed emotions.

"I was sick in the stomach for Rio, who's a great player, a massive player for us and it's deeply disappointing that he will not be available, but it's now my responsibility to lead the boys out. It's a massive responsibility and I'm looking forward to it.

"I think I am in this position as managers see that I am a good captain, they like the way I do things on the pitch. I think I have the respect of the players on the pitch and I will use the captaincy as a positive and not a negative."