Capello looks forward
Wednesday, 06 February, 2008
Fabio Capello says he can pass on his 'winning mentality' to the England players, but doing so will take time.
England v Switzerland
International Friendly
8pm, Wednesday 6 February 2008
Wembley Stadium
As he prepares for his first game in charge the new England Manager Fabio Capello has explained that he feels he can pass his 'winning mentality' on to the Three Lions - but that change should not be expected overnight.
Having spent his first two days with the England squad, taking two training sessions on Monday and a further session on Tuesday morning, Capello has identified the most important areas to look at both on and off the training field.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Capello said: "What I will try to pass on to the team is a winning mentality and being confident in their own abilities, playing bravely especially when we are at home and being more confident in our strength when we are away.
"I cannot perform miracles in three days. The important thing is to create a good group and make sure the team moves in the right way on the pitch.
"We need to forget what happened in the past, whether you win or lose you should leave that behind you.''
Looking forward to Wednesday evening when he will lead his players out at Wembley for the first time, Capello said that once the game begins he will be too focused on the game to get nervous.
"When we get to Wembley I will be a bit nervous but when the game starts I will be 100% focused and concentrating on the game," Capello revealed. "I believe Switzerland are a good team. They have good players and they are very dangerous on the counter.''
When asked by journalists on how he wishes to be addressed by his players, Capello replied quickly: "Boss!'"
He then went on to further answer the questions on rules: "If people are amazed by these rules then they are probably not used to having them.
"I believe we have some obligations towards the fans and so I feel we need rules to work by, in an orderly fashion.
"We have not many days together compared to when the players are with their clubs so we need some strict rules to create a group and a winning mentality that I want.
"The players can call each other by first name or surname but eating together and getting up from the table together is just respecting other people.''
When looking at the differences between English football and the leagues in which he has managed in the past, Capello believes there is essentially little difference in terms of the football played - but that the numbers of home-grown players were fewer here.
"There are very similar aspects to Spain for example, but what is really interesting is that in England we have 38% of players who are English," Capello explained.
"In Spain, a much higher percentage are Spanish players, so the manager of Spain has a much greater choice and this is something that needs to be reminded.''