Gerrard said: "I was desperate for him to become England manager because he's the best man for the job. Sven's the right manager to bring success to England. Whether it's Euro 2004 or the next World Cup, he's the man to deliver.
"All the players believe that and I'm sure the nation feels the same. We always wanted him to stay and we thought he would, so the decision was a great boost to everybody going into Euro 2004.
"Everything can be channeled in the right direction for Portugal now. It was important that the manager did make a decision. Now he's made it everyone can relax.
"We've got all the ingredients to be successful in this tournament. I'm very confident that we can have a big tournament - and for me that means going all the way."