It is Steven Gerrard's way to take responsibility. Maybe, sometimes, with that deep worry frown and his desire for the 'Hollywood pass' when on the pitch, he tries to accept too much.
On Thursday the England captain dealt, unequivocally, with two theories that have developed around Fabio Capello post-World Cup – that the manager is unable to communicate properly with the players and that he has lost the dressing room. For Gerrard, Capello is not, as he has been portrayed, a "weirdo" or a "jackass".
Turkeys do not vote for Christmas. And footballers do not, usually, accept blame. Their primary concern is their own performance – and after that the team's.
And neither was Gerrard going to pour out his innermost thoughts on the eve of England's crucial opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria.
But he is a plain dealer. "All the players believe in this manager and are right behind him," Gerrard said. "Everyone's desperate to put things right together."
But can he, amid the claims, strongly rejected, of disenchantment and dislike, truly say that?
"I don't know if everyone is totally 100 per cent behind him, of course, because I can't control what's going through every player's mind," the midfielder added. "But I've not seen anything that makes me think they're not.
"It seems as if there's a lot of blame going towards the manager. But it was the players who under-performed out there [at the World Cup].
"People talk about tactics and stuff, but there's only so much that a manager can do. The players have to deliver, and the players never delivered in Africa.
"Of course, everyone knows in football that the manager eventually gets the blame if things don't go well, but for me, we should get behind him now."
That starts against Bulgaria on Friday evening, at what will be a nervy Wembley, and, next Tuesday, away to Switzerland.
There is an appetite in some quarters for Capello's blood. Does it feel to the players that the manager's future may be decided by the next two games?
"I hope not," Gerrard said emphatically. "It has happened before but, hopefully, that won't be the case again. Hopefully we can get two good results and start slowly building.
"It'd be a knee-jerk reaction to sack a manager after one bad tournament, then think everything will be rosy when you start with a new guy and we'll go on and win the Euros.
"It's crazy to think it's as easy as that. I want him to stay. I have a lot of belief in him."
But can Gerrard understand – as the Football Association, somewhat oddly, has already publicly stated – that Capello's successor should be English, or at least British? "Not just yet," he said.
"It's important that Fabio is still given a chance. For me, he's a fantastic manager. Who out there that's an English manager has the CV that Fabio Capello has got?
"The communication is not a problem. He talks to the players individually, and the team, and the message does come across."
Certainly some of the attacks on Capello have not only been personal but vindictive.
He is, after all, not only probably the most decorated coach in European football but one whose methods and approach were being lauded by some of those same critics prior to South Africa.
A terrible tournament changes many things, of course, but perspective has been lost.
Nevertheless, has Capello been urged by the FA to soften his style, and be more approachable? Has he changed? "No, not at all," Gerrard said.
"The routines are quite similar. We've been through the mistakes we made out there and things we need to improve on."
Hasn't the criticism affected Capello? "It doesn't seem to me that it affects him," Gerrard added of the 64 year-old who has actually appeared more combative recently.
"He's got a lot of experience and he's handling it quite well. It's up to the players to ease the pressure and take the focus off him, and make us a better team, more successful."
And neither, he added, did any of those players play a part in deciding Capello's future after the World Cup. Gerrard, certainly, was not consulted.
"We shouldn't be contacted," he said. "It's got nothing to do with the players." Time will tell. "The only way we can recover is to improve results and try and qualify smoothly out of this group," Gerrard added.
"Then we've got to try and prove to people in the tournament, if we get there, that we can do a lot better than in South Africa. I'm 30 and there's still an opportunity for me to go out on a high with England."
