England captain Steven Gerrard claims former manager Fabio Capello never believed in him to lead the side.
But the Liverpool midfielder says that current boss Roy Hodgson has total faith in him.
Gerrard was
England captain under Capello
during the dismal World Cup campaign in 2010.
"Capello didn't believe in me as his number one captain, but Roy does," he said.
Gerrard took over the armband under Capello almost by
default in South Africa but felt the Italian was not convinced by his
credentials.
Capello's captain, Rio Ferdinand, was injured in England's first training session and John Terry was overlooked
after being stripped of the armband
previously, leaving Gerrard to step in.
England's World Cup journey
7 June: v Honduras, Miami, USA14 June: v Italy, World Cup, Manaus
19 June: v Uruguay, World Cup, Sao Paulo
24 June: v Costa Rica, World Cup, Belo Horizonte
Speaking about Capello's lack of
belief, he said: "I don't know what it was. I think he believed in me
as a player and rated me as a player.
"It was totally up to him but for me, now, I know I'm Roy's number one captain and that's a big confidence boost for me."
Gerrard, who is expected to be back to lead the side
against Honduras in Miami's Sun Life Stadium on Saturday (2145 BST),
added of Capello: "Our relationship was totally fine and I enjoyed
working under him but, at the time, we had Rio Ferdinand here and maybe
John Terry as well.
"Maybe he thought they were going to offer something different from me or they were his preferred choices."
Gerrard said he would still have acted as a figure of
authority even without the captaincy, given his experience and the fact
that he has led Liverpool with distinction for so many years.
"I'd have still have put an arm around the shoulder of the young players," said Gerrard.
"Just because I'm the captain with the armband on, I
still want the likes of Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Phil Jagielka to
still be leaders in there with me and back me up and we all do it
together.
"I'd rather be captain than vice-captain that's for sure."
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