Steven Gerrard has denied Luiz Felipe Scolari will have a psychological edge over England in this afternoon's World Cup quarter-final with Portugal.

And the Liverpool midfielder revealed the determination in the squad to help Sven-Goran Eriksson finally achieve a victory over his nemesis.

Eriksson has been on the receiving end of defeats by Brazil in the 2002 World Cup and Portugal in Euro 2004 when Scolari was at the helm.

Gerrard said: "Do we feel Scolari has the edge over us? No. You see this kind of stuff on television and think about it beforehand.

"But once that whistle goes for the start of the game, we are not going to be worried about their manager or who they have got missing.

"All we will be focused on is who we are up against and trying to get that right result.

With Owen Hargreaves set to return as the holding midfielder, Gerrard is relishing the prospect of having a free attacking role.

He said: "I think the holding midfielder benefits me. It gives me that licence to get forward and to try to make things happen and that's where I feel I produce my best stuff.

"In a 4-4-2, if I play with Frank, I've got to be careful when I go forward. I've got to limit going forward because I know Frank is going to all of the time.

"When I have had Owen Hargreaves or Michael Carrick in there, I didn't have to worry too much about the defensive responsibilities and I could get forward, try to support Wayne Rooney and try to make things happen.

"It excites me and frees me up and is closer to the role I play for Liverpool week in and week out so I am more comfortable doing that."

To be involved in a World Cup quarter-final is a big thrill for Gerrard after a groin operation meant he missed out on Japan and Korea in 2002.

The 26-year-old said: "It was a big disappointment to miss out but you become a fan when you are not involved and you cheer the lads on. It was difficult to take when we went out in the quarter-finals and that's what we don't want to experience again.

"Before I was a footballer, I wanted the country to do well. Because they were my teammates, I was desperate for them to knock out Brazil and go into the last four, but it wasn't to be.

"The lads are talking now about the feelings of when that happened and they don't want to experience that again and I definitely don't want to experience it."