England - who host German in a friendly at Wembley on Wednesday night - currently lie fourth in Group E and face a real battle to qualify. The disappointment of a goalless draw at home to Macedonia during October last year was quickly followed by a 2-0 defeat in Croatia. Another blank in Israel and a less than convincing 3-0 victory over minnows Andorra in Barcelona hardly helped to ease the harsh criticism levelled at McClaren and his players alike. England, however, recorded back-to-back qualifying wins when they saw off Estonia in Tallinn by the same scoreline in June, having drawn with Brazil at Wembley the previous week. During that showpiece match to officially mark the return of the famous stadium to the international arena, Lampard found himself the target of jeers from some sections of the crowd. The midfielder - who netted again for Chelsea from the penalty spot against Liverpool on Sunday, but who has scored just once in 15 games for England - admitted afterwards "of course, criticism hurts". However, the 29-year-old maintains he is strong enough to deal with any flak which came his way. Lampard believes such determined character in the camp can ensure the right results as the squad gear up for the crunch Euro 2008 double-header against Israel and Russia with the visit of their old rivals later this week. "Every campaign I have been involved in with getting to the major tournaments, we have had bad results. The players just have to make sure we get there," Lampard said. "Now we know what games we have to win. "With England, you need to be strong - as players, individuals and as a team. "There has to be a positive vibe, we have to be determined to win and to get to the Euros, and then we will get there." Although McClaren named a 28-man squad for the game with Germany, that has already been reduced following the withdrawal of Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves, Darren Bent and Sol Campbell. The England coach already had plenty of injury and suspension concerns, with Wayne Rooney's fractured foot ruling him out, while fellow striker Peter Crouch will be suspended against Israel. David Beckham was, though, more than happy to prove a point to his doubters with a quick warm-up at London Colney - his troublesome ankle injury heavily strapped - before going to join some of the other players for a recovery session following his long-haul trip from the United States. The absences of Hargreaves and Gerrard will probably hand Michael Carrick the chance to operate in central midfield alongside Lampard on Wednesday in a match which has little real significance other than national pride. McClaren, however, would clearly like to avenge the loss to the Germans on the day the old Wembley closed by beating the three-time world champions at the £800-million renovated stadium. Yet the England boss would gladly sacrifice defeat if it ensured picking up six precious qualifying points in September. Lampard believes McClaren will "leave no stone unturned" to ensure England reach the finals in Austria and Switzerland. "There are subtle differences, like there are between every manager," the Chelsea midfielder reflected. "Training has changed slightly and we have been pushing ourselves more in training. That is not a criticism of Sven [Goran-Eriksson] at all, he had his own style and I am a big admirer of Sven." Lampard added: "Steve is leaving no stone unturned in trying to get us to the European Championships and to be successful there. "The spirit is very good, as good as I have known it. "We are very positive." McClaren knows there is plenty for him to think about as he fine tunes preparations for the biggest test of his short England managerial career to date. "What I hope to do is by the time Israel and Russia come along, it will be an extra three weeks they will have had to train and play," said McClaren, aware of how quickly the best-laid plans can change and the importance of having key men like Gerrard fit for the matches which really matter. "Then we don't have a situation where we are sending players into a qualifying game who are not at the percentage they should be to be able to perform." McClaren added: "What I want is to get the squad together and go over the positive things that we got in the summer out of those three games. "We have got ourselves in a good position. We need to move on from that. "I want to say this is the direction where we are going, this is how we are going to qualify, this is what we have to do and this is what I expect. "I want everybody together for that, rather than doing it before Israel and Russia. "I want the England agenda to be put firmly in players' minds of what we need to do over the next five games after Germany."