'England should trust Lampard'
Chelsea manager Avram Grant has told Steve McClaren that Frank Lampard should be an essential part of the England team.
Grant has been impressed with the way Lampard responded to being dropped by McClaren with a series of dominant displays for the Blues.
Lampard was also jeered by England fans unhappy with his international form but he shows no signs of being affected.
It is the kind of character that former Israel boss Grant believes should make Lampard a automatic selection for club and country.
"I was a national coach and I know that you need players not just with quality but also with character," Grant said.
"With Frank and John Terry you can see in games during difficult times how they react and how they fight so it is my opinion that England missed him a lot in Russia.
"You cannot say for sure but I know that if he had played the result would have been different. England can win without him but they are better with him."
Lampard will hope to regain his place for next Friday's friendly in Austria and the Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia the following Wednesday, but his Chelsea colleague John Terry will be absent after knee surgery.
England captain Terry was desperate to play in the Croatia match, but Grant is adamant he needs to make a full recovery before returning. Terry had aggrevating the knee problem while training with his country in Russia last month, just hours after admitting he knew he needed an operation but wanted to play through the pain barrier.
"John likes to train and to play every day, 24 hours a day, but he knows his situation. He is not fit at the moment," Grant said.
"In two weeks he will be and we need to take care of him because he always risks his body for Chelsea and for the national team and he has had a lot of injuries. This will be the last - I hope.
"England will miss him because he is a great defender and a great leader, especially in difficult times, but it was the right decision.
"If he was available I would be very happy to see him play for England but he is not."
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