Steven Gerrard admits it would be a 'disaster' if England failed to survive the World Cup group stage and feels the key to winning today's Group C decider with Slovenia is overcoming the fear factor that has affected the side's performance in their opening two games.

England must beat Slovenia to guarantee their place in the second round, with a draw leaving them at the mercy of the United States' performance against Algeria.

Gerrard admits it is hard to believe such a talented squad on paper could have engineered such a perilous position on the pitch, but the England skipper admits his team-mates have struggled to deal with the pressure that accompanied previous games against the US and Algeria.

"The last thing we want is to go out in the group stages," said Gerrard, who remains England's only goal-scorer in South Africa.

"We have come here to stay in this tournament to the end and I think it would be an absolute disaster for this group of players to go home after the group stages.

"You want more than that. We want to put in a performance and the key is to play without fear. There is pressure, there's no doubt about it, playing for England - we have massive support.

"But it doesn't help to go on to the pitch with fear. You have to try to let it go and relax, and hopefully the performance will come."

Slovenia are the smallest nation competing in the World Cup finals, and England's most recent meeting with Matjaz Kek's side ended in a comfortable 2-1 win in a friendly at Wembley last September.

Ordinarily, Fabio Capello's men would start as firm favourites, but after a difficult week that has seen rumours of in-fighting engulf the England camp, nobody will be taking anything for granted this afternoon.

"I accept that, on paper, we are massive favourites," said Gerrard. "They are a small nation compared to us. But you know that every game in this World Cup has been difficult.

"They only have to come into the game and get a draw - the pressure is on us because we need to win the game. But we have to live with that. We need to play with that on our shoulders and get on with it."

Despite his status as skipper, Gerrard's position was somewhat undermined by John Terry's 'leadership address' last Sunday.

The Liverpool midfielder watched his predecessor's press conference, in which Terry made a point of highlighting the qualities of Joe Cole, but claims there is no suggestion of England's players attempting to influence the make up of today's starting line-up.

"I watched John Terry's interview and you could see that he's a passionate player," said Gerrard. "He went out and said what he said, but now it's time to move on.

"It's a very important game and, as players and as the captain, it's important to switch attention to the game. It's a do-or-die situation.

"Did we try to influence the selection? Not at all. The manager picks the team he thinks is best to do the job.

"I don't think the players are in any position to question who the manager picks. Whoever he picks, we go with that and give it our best shot."