Uncertain Fabio Capello admits World Cup failings
It was supposed to be the press conference that would allay England supporters’ fears that manager Fabio Capello was the right man for the job, but instead the Italian admitted that he’s still not sure how to change the players’ mentality.
"I don't know what I have to do to improve the minds of the players," the 64-year-old confessed in his first meeting with the media since England’s ill-fated World Cup campaign in South Africa.
Both the FA and the England fans would have been expecting more certainty from the pragmatic Italian ahead of England’s forthcoming qualification campaign for Euro 2012. On this occasion, though, his honesty has hardly been refreshing.
Despite his admission, Capello remains confident that he’s the right man for the job still. "I'm here because I think I can do something for the national team," he added.
The England manager once again stated that tiredness was a key factor in the squad’s failings in South Africa, and also blamed the players’ underlying fear for their inability to perform when it really mattered most.
After saying that he was sorry to the fans, Capello admitted that he made mistakes from a coaching perspective, but reaffirmed that he has confidence in his own ability to manage this current England side and is now determined to improve.
"Every experience is important, for the manager and for everyone. I learned a lot. When you lose something, new experiences are very important, you have to understand what happened," Capello said.
"We made mistakes and from these we must improve. Everyone made mistakes."
It’s been a difficult weekend for the former Real Madrid and Juventus boss after both Paul Robinson and Wes Brown refused his offer to return to the international fold – opting to retire instead. However, Capello said that he respects the duo’s decisions to retire from international football, and had no issue with either of them.
But the biggest question remains over the squad’s suspect mentality; and if it’s not Capello who can improve the mind of the players, then just who can?
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