England's big names have presented a united front in telling the world it's time to draw a line under recent off-field distractions and start focusing on football if they are to have a shot at World Cup glory in South Africa.

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GettyImagesRio Ferdinand: Focused on his club.

Stand-in skipper Steven Gerrard insists Fabio Capello's message to cut out the nonsense will be heeded by the England players and that the squad is ready to move past the controversy and onto the path of World Cup glory.

Regular captain Rio Ferdinand said the squad will make sacrifices to ensure there is no "circus" following the team at the tournament this time.

Ferdinand's back injury means Gerrard takes on the armband for Wednesday night's friendly against Egypt, a match that serves as much to turn the focus back on to football instead of off-field issues as it does to fine-tune England's World Cup strategy.

Capello publicly called for England's "rich kids" to behave themselves on the eve of the match, but Gerrard revealed the Italian manager's message to the players had come earlier during the squad's first training session on Monday.

"Players have to be an example to the children,'' Capello told the media on Tuesday. "For that reason, they have to stay careful at all times and sacrifice something in their lives. They are young players, young boys, who are rich boys. This is the problem.''

England's traditional World Cup implosion usually occurs around the quarter-final stage, but the team was widely tipped to go at least as far as the last four before recent scandals derailed preparations. But if the tabloid turmoil is England's low point this time around, at least the team has 100 days to turn things around before the real action starts.

That's exactly the message Gerrard was keen to send out as he insisted the squad would put the off-field issues behind them and stand united in time for their tilt at South Africa 2010.

He said: "I think it is important for everyone to get on to be successful. We know there are a lot of opinions about this squad from the outside. But the most important thing is from the inside we are all one, we are all together and united.

"For us to be successful in the summer, we need to all stick together. We know each other inside out now. We've had enough time under Fabio to realise what the manager wants from us. During the last couple of days, the team spirit and togetherness have not been affected. Everyone is united.''

Gerrard accepts the need to adhere to Capello's wishes and the need to draw a line under the John Terry and Ashley Cole scandals, starting on Wednesday night.

He said: "Of course, you can't ignore the headlines because they are on the back pages and front pages, every TV channel, but we've got to forget about it and put it all behind us. We've got a massive tournament, the biggest tournament you can play in as a player, coming up.

"It is around the corner and it is important the players don't lose any focus. They should forget about stuff that is being written about players' private lives and focus on the football. We totally understand the importance of setting standards and the manager has let us know that again. We understand the responsibilities. We are role models to kids.

"The manager addressed the situation as soon as he saw us on the training pitch on Monday. The message was short and sweet. He told us to focus on the football. We've got a big game in a couple of days, and a massive tournament coming up, and he reiterated we've got responsibilities as players on and off the pitch.''

Meanwhile, Terry's official replacement as England skipper, Ferdinand, is also pushing the 'focus on the football' message, claiming he would gladly go without seeing his family for a month if it meant lifting the World Cup.

Ferdinand told the Guardian he would be "very disappointed" if he didn't reach a final with England, and that he'd be willing to make any sacrifice to get that far this summer. He said: "You don't play just to get a cap or to be there. You play to win and to achieve something, and if I was to finish my career with England and not even to have got to a final, I'd be very disappointed.''

The 31-year-old believes England have been guilty of getting "caught up in the hype and euphoria'' surrounding the national team in previous tournaments. Ferdinand said: "The whole circus that followed the England squad last time at the World Cup was a joke, and I wouldn't like to see that again. It's a distraction and is detrimental to our chances.

"I'd rather go to the World Cup, say to yourself 'Block off four weeks or whatever it is to win the World Cup', and not see your family. I love my kids and my missus as much as anybody else, but if it meant me winning the World Cup and not seeing them for four weeks, I'd take that.''