Liverpool ace Steven Gerrard admits the England captaincy has given him a new lift.
Having made his 100th appearance against Sweden in Stockholm last November, a special presentation will be made to Gerrard ahead of next month's prestige friendly against Brazil.
He explained: "When a manager has belief in you and the confidence to say 'You're my man, you're my captain, I want you to lead this team, I don't care about anyone else', it gives you a big lift, a big boost. And I think that's the reason my performances have gone up for England.
"I get even more of a buzz playing for England now. Throughout my England career, I haven't always hit the levels I would have liked to.
"But now, I think I am playing at a level that I am really comfortable with - in terms of my contribution to the team. And being captain has helped me grow. There have been times when I haven't really looked forward to going down to England. Maybe I hadn't done well the time before and had got some criticism, maybe I hadn't really felt comfortable going away from home - or stuff like that.
"But right now, I'm already looking forward to the games coming up next month and March."