The midfielder concedes England are in the "last-chance saloon" after a woeful goalless draw against Algeria in Cape Town on Friday night.
And he has urged the players to stand up and be counted in Wednesday's final group clash with Slovenia in Port Elizabeth.
Fabio Capello's side now have to win to guarantee a place in the last 16.
Gerrard said: "We need to find more spirit. Against Algeria, I thought we weren't aggressive enough.
"We never pressed the ball and won it back quickly enough. We never showed enough urgency.
"We certainly weren't clinical enough around the box. We need to find something - and quick - for Wednesday night.
"I thought the first game (against the United States) would get the cobwebs out of the system and I am very surprised with this result
"We prepared really well for the Algeria game. Going into it we felt good, and unfortunately we haven't delivered the result we wanted.
"We need to get back to the form we showed in qualifying. In qualifying, we had the majority of the team firing on all cylinders.
"We need to recover the spirit really quickly and get back to the form we showed then."
Gerrard is used to handling crucial games with club and country and knows there will be massive pressure to perform against group leaders Slovenia.
He conceded: "It adds a lot more pressure on ourselves for Wednesday.
"But as a player you've got to thrive on that pressure and look forward to it and hope we can get the result we want.
"There is a lot of pressure on the guys, there is no lying about that. There is a lot of tension because we want to stay in this tournament for a long time.
"But we knew that coming into it, that there was always going to be big pressure and as players you've got to accept that.
"You've got play under that pressure and play well."
Gerrard does not need reminding what is at stake on Wednesday and knows he has a responsibility to help lift the squad.
The Liverpool star is also aware of the need to provide some much needed cheer for the long suffering England fans.
He said: "It is the last-chance saloon. What's done is done now. There is no good looking back. We can't change that.
"As captain, I've got to make sure we don't feel sorry for ourselves and we've got to go out Wednesday night and try and perform a lot better.
"We also know the fans pay good money. They have been terrific in the two games, getting behind us and showing us support.
"We need to produce more for them. Hopefully on Wednesday we can send them away smiling rather than the way they are feeling tonight.
"They are entitled to their opinion. Unfortunately we sent them away upset and slightly concerned.
"We hope we can keep them here for a long time. As players, we don't want to go home.
"We want to stay with the supporters and have a successful tournament but we will only do that if we improve."
Gerrard admits all thoughts are now on qualifying rather than worrying about whether or not England will top their group.
He said: "Ideally coming into this tournament, you want to win your group for the supposedly easier game in the last 16.
"But you never know who you are going to come up against now.
"It is just about winning the game and getting into the next round. That is the most important thing."
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