Carragher: It's great to be back

The sanitised concrete bowl which is the home of English football can be a vicious bullring if you get on the wrong side of 90,000 supporters.

Just ask Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole how it feels to be booed and jeered by the home fans.

Carragher, 32, insists his international comeback did not faze him on the pitch - but he was nervous about his reception from the terraces.

The versatile Liverpool defender ended a self-imposed three-year exile in Monday's 3-1 win over Mexico, having been coaxed out of retirement by England boss Fabio Capello.

Carragher turned his back on his country in 2007, frustrated at travelling the world with the national team, only to sit on the bench.

The decision triggered controversy, with his peers in the game and many fans believing England should 'retire' the player and not the other way round.

But now he is back in Austria with the squad preparing for Sunday's final World Cup warm-up against Japan having overcome the toughest hurdle of all - the England fans.

Carragher said: "I'd like to say a big thank-you to the supporters. I could understand if the reception wasn't great because I've been out of it for three years of my own accord.

"But I've always been excited about England ever since I started. I captained the Under-21s, I broke the record for the most caps for the Under-21s.

"It was just towards the end of my time, the last couple of games, I'd come off the back of a couple of Champions League final appearances, we'd won it once, and I just felt I deserved a bit more of a go.

"That was no criticism of the manager at the time or the players. Maybe the players who played ahead of me might have felt the same if I'd played.

"We've got another game and another week's training, so there is all to play for.

"But I'm pleased I came on and hopefully that can give me a good chance of getting in the 23.

"Every player wants to play in big games and playing in front of nearly 90,000 is always a massive occasion.

"I'm fortunate that I play for Liverpool and every game is like a cup final really, so I'm used to that intensity and pressure.

"But playing and coming on was big for me and everyone wants to play at that level."

Carragher's ability to play at right-back as well as in central defence caught Capello's eye as he can provide natural cover for Glen Johnson at the World Cup.

An old-fashioned one-club man, he put Liverpool ahead of England, after falling behind Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and Jonathan Woodgate in the pecking order under Capello's predecessor Steve McClaren.

England came to him, not the other way round, as the nation gears itself up for the biggest football tournament in the world battling a run of injuries.

Carragher had not played for England since June 2007 against Brazil but slotted in comfortably for the second half on Monday.

Now his focus is on making the final cut on June 1 to ensure his comeback lasts longer than a fortnight.

He added: "The set-up is different because it is a different manager and every manager has their own ideas and way of doing things.

"But in terms of the squad, the players, the backroom people, it is all the same and has always been run very well.

"Capello is a very focused manager. I've only been here a week and don't think it is right to say one manager does this and it is right.

"But if you win, you are always right. This manager has his own style and it has proved successful over the years."