Steven Gerrard says England fans did have the right to boo Ashley Cole following his mistake against Kazakhstan on Saturday.
The Chelsea defender's poor pass allowed the visitors to score at Wembley, and he was then loudly jeered by supporters whenever he touched the ball.
When asked at a press conference on Monday afternoon if fans were entitled to boo players, Gerrard said: "Of course."
"Any supporter, when you pay money, you deserve to voice your opinion. But we need their support. If we're going to be successful in the future, we need them with us."
"It's not going to help Ashley and it's not going to help the team but the support we got was fantastic. They stayed with us throughout the game."
"He [Cole] is disappointed and the players are disappointed," Gerrard told a press conference broadcast by Sky Sports News.
Cole will not have an immediate chance to make amends for his error against Belarus on Wednesday because of a hamstring injury.
But Gerrard is confident the left-back's confidence will not be adversely affected by the fans' reaction.
"You've got to get on with it," Gerrard continued. "You've got to take it as a man. Ashley's a big character and the players are here to support him."
Defender Matthew Upson admitted players' confidence can be badly dented if their own fans start to jeer them.
"It is the fans' right to do what they want," said Upson.
"No-one is asking them to come and clap for 90 minutes. But mistakes happen and it doesn't help when the fans jump on someone's back."
"Without doubt it can affect players' confidence."
"But part of being an elite sportsman is reacting when you make mistakes."
"It is something everyone has to do and Ashley knows that."
"He will cope with it mentally. I spoke to him afterwards and he was fine."
Ironically, Upson does feel that, as a collective unit, the England side may have benefited from the negative reaction.
In such circumstances, the team tends to unite behind a common cause, forging a bond that cannot easily be broken.
"It is difficult," said Upson.
"It can affect the whole team but in a way it can be positive as well because it makes you pull together."
"It is natural for the fans to expect a lot from the team. We have one of the strongest groups of players in the world. We play in fantastic stadiums. There is a pressure and expectancy on us."
"We have to cope with that. The players would just ask the fans not to get too carried away. We are still in the process of learning what the manager wants. Results have gone well so far, so what happened was very unfortunate."