Scott Carson insists he is up for the challenge of starting against Croatia at Wembley.
Villa keeper prepared to take criticism on the chin
Scott Carson insists he is up for the challenge of starting against Croatia in the crunch Euro 2008 qualifier.
Carson has seen at first hand the criticism that Paul Robinson has received after a series of high-profile errors for club and country.
But the Liverpool keeper, currently on loan at Aston Villa, will relish rather than be fazed by the opportunity if, as expected, he starts at Wembley.
Carson said: "Does the threat of criticism scare you? Not really. You've got to take the good with the bad.
"It's all right everyone talking about you if you do really well but then everyone is going to have a bad game and you've then got to say 'I've done that wrong', and you've got to be big enough to take the criticism."
Carson was pleased with his debut against Austria and delighted to rid himself of an unwanted record.
Banter
He said: "I had been getting banter off the lads saying I had the record for the most England squad call-ups without winning a cap.
"It was nice to get that cap. Now I can give the lads a little bit of banter back.
"I wasn't bothered I didn't have a lot to do (against Austria). I just wanted to get out and play and avoid controversy. I was just delighted to get my first cap."
Carson was impressed with the turnout of more than 4,000 England fans in Vienna and believes they will have a massive role to play at Wembley.
He said: "The fans are going to be very important when we need a positive result. Hopefully they will be right behind us.
"The England fan base is right up there with the best. Every away game they come out in their thousands and support the team well - like in Austria - and everyone in the squad is really grateful to them home and away."
