Fabio Capello has been quick to play down expectations for the England team ahead of his first game in charge – Wednesday’s friendly with Switzerland.
“I’m not a Messiah, I’m just someone who tries to reap results through hard work,” said the England coach.
“What I’ll try to pass on to the team is a winning mentality and being confident in their own abilities.
“I can’t perform miracles in three days. The important thing is to create a good group.”
Capello’s record as a club manager has been one of almost constant success, winning league titles with all four clubs he has coached – Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus.
He also won the Champions League with Milan in 1994, when the Italian side thrashed Johan Cruyff’s highly-rated Barcelona 4-0.
However, Capello pointed out that he was picking his squad from a relatively small pool of players.
“What is really interesting is that in England we have 38% of players who are English,” he stated.
“In Spain, a much higher percentage are Spanish players so the manager of Spain has a much greater choice – and this is something that people need to be reminded of.”
Capello has implemented a stricter discplinary structure than his predecessor Steve McClaren. Out have gone the post-training games of golf and the new coach has emphasised the importance of punctuality on his players.
“I can’t see why they shouldn’t respect the rules,” added the Italian.
“Obviously, people make mistakes but if you want to be part of a group you have to follow the rules of a group.
“On Thursday they can play as much golf as they like.”
