LONDON - Mid-field striker Frank Lampard has said that England’s players should never have been called’The Golden Generation’, a nickname given by former FA chief executive Adam Crozier at the start of Sven Goran Eriksson’s reign in 2001.

“By calling us ‘The Golden Generation’ it was almost as if people were waiting for us to fail. That should only be said once you have won something. Look at 1966 when they won it.

Now, that was a golden generation, so it was said much too early about us,” The Sun quoted Lampard, as saying.

Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham and Ashley Cole were also part of Sven’s early squads.

“Once we have finished and hopefully won something then we can talk about generations. It is quite frustrating for us players, we didn’t make up the term. We just went out there and played - but it kept getting mentioned,” Lampard added.

“The reason people talk about ‘The Golden Generation’ is that we have a good crop of players. They are very talented individuals but we have not made the most of it. I believe we have a great chance next year. I’m not saying ‘We are going to win the World Cup’ but we are in better shape than before,” he said. (ANI)