Defender Ferdinand believes that the team and not the manager are at fault as they head to Barcelona for Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier bidding to end a five-game winless run against minnows Andorra.

"I think, even before the boss came in, we weren't consistently playing to our capabilities, to our potential," he said.

"Many of these players in the squad could walk into any other team in Europe - if not the world - but we've not been able to do that over a consistent period.

"The manager we've got now is doing all he can to find the answers to all the questions that arise from Sven-Goran Eriksson's era and his own period (in charge).

"But the players have got to take some responsibility as well. The manager can do it any way he wants but if we're not performing right then it's not going to happen.

"I think a lot of us haven't been performing how we perform for our clubs. It's been, here and there, high-class performances from individuals but not as a collective team.

"The first half against Sweden in the opening group of the World Cup last summer was a great performance but, other than that, there hasn't been a stand-up performance.

"It is a strange. There have been solid performances. We all strive to be the best and do as well as we can.

"You see players week in, week out doing unbelievable world class things for their clubs but sometimes it doesn't work out collectively for England.

"That's the difference between a great team and a team that are nearly there."

Ferdinand believes Italy are the prime example of players performing as a team when they lifted the World Cup last summer with a side not littered with star names.

He said: "It's about us getting the right mix and blend when we're all together and putting it together at the right time. You saw that with Italy at the World Cup.

"They all performed to a high level, especially in the latter stages. There wasn't a stand-out player for them that was head and shoulders above the rest, but they all performed, solid eight out of 10 performances."