JOHN Terry has insisted that being dropped from Saturday's 1-0 win over Austria will only make Rio Ferdinand even more determined to secure a starting spot in next summer's World Cup finals.

Ferdinand, who has made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes for his club side, Manchester United, in the opening weeks of the season, was left on the bench at Old Trafford with Sol Campbell partnering Terry at the heart of the defence.

That all changed when Campbell was forced off with a hamstring problem shortly after the hour mark but, while Ferdinand will be back in the starting line-up when Poland visit Manchester on Wednesday, his seemingly untouchable status has been removed.

England's most expensive defender faces a fight for his place and, while he was bitterly disappointed at being asked to move aside last week, Terry insists his team-mate is ready to prove his worth in the countdown to next year's finals.

"If it was me being left out, I know I would have been very disappointed," admitted the Chelsea defender, who has leapt to the top of England's pecking order following a string of imperious displays in last season's title triumph.

"He (Ferdinand) was exactly the same, but the boss has come out and said that he wants his players to be disappointed if they're not playing and that's how it should be.

"Rio's got his chance now. He came on and did well on Saturday and it looks like it's going to be him and me together again on Wednesday.

"We keep on going on about it, but this country really is blessed with some superb defenders at the moment. It's not just Rio, you've also got people like Ledley (King) and Jamie (Carragher), who did such a good job at full-back.

"We're very fortunate in that respect and I'm just thankful that I've been able to put myself ahead of them."

Terry also revealed that Ferdinand had been able to put his personal disappointment to one side on Saturday in order to show his support for the team.

"Before the game, Rio and the rest of the lads who weren't starting made a point of coming up to everyone and wishing them all the best," he said.

"At the end of the day, we're a team and, no matter who's playing or who's out there, we all want what's best for the team.

"The same applied to me against Wales - I wasn't picked but I still went round the dressing room to wish everyone else good luck. That's how it should be."

England's 1-0 win was good enough to ensure World Cup qualification once Holland won 2-0 in the Czech Republic, but the unimpressive manner of their victory failed to atone for last month's disastrous defeat in Northern Ireland.

Sven Goran Eriksson's side continue to fall some way short of what is expected of them but, with the big kick-off in Germany still some eight months away, there is plenty of time to put things right.

"I'm not really sure what we need to make us click," said Terry. "Maybe, now that we're qualified, we'll appreciate having that good few months to prepare and prepare right.

"The main thing for us has always been to qualify, although we want to be top of the group now. We realise we haven't played well and we realise we've let people down. We know we have to start playing well and start getting results."

That process starts on Wednesday night, with the visit of Poland now offering Eriksson a chance to experiment in the context of a meaningful international game.

David Beckham's suspension should open up a starting spot for Shaun Wright-Phillips, while the return of Wayne Rooney offers an opportunity to try him in a floating role behind lone striker, Michael Owen.

"We need to learn from the last couple of games," confessed Terry's Chelsea colleague, Frank Lampard. "We haven't been at our best, but Saturday was better, hopefully Wednesday will be better again and, by the time the World Cup comes around, we should be there in terms of what we're trying to do. We are capable of more and we won't try to hide from that fact."

Lampard was England's hero on Saturday as his penalty proved the only difference between the two sides.

The reigning footballer of the year replaced Beckham as England's penalty taker after the skipper missed successive spot-kicks against France and Portugal in Euro 2004, but this was the first time he had been called upon since then.

"Taking a penalty for your country is a massive step up," he said. "Whether or not we went to the World Cup was riding on that penalty, so it was a bit different to taking one for Chelsea.

"I didn't think about it at all in the game but then, all of a sudden, you get a penalty and, you can't help but feel it.

"It's about staying calm and composed and not thinking about everybody that's sat at home watching.

"That's the nature of football - if you're going to take penalties, you're going to have to take some pressure kicks. You know, at international level, you're going to have to take some big ones."