Capello denies retirements showed squad unrest

Fabio Capello insists he still has the support of England’s players despite the international retirements of Paul Robinson and Wes Brown less than 24 hours after the duo had been called up for Wednesday’s friendly against Hungary.

Capello had hoped his decision to select a host of new players for England’s first match since the World Cup would begin the healing process after his team’s woeful performances in South Africa.

But instead the Italian has come under fire again for failing to communicate with his players after Blackburn goalkeeper Robinson and Manchester United defender Brown decided to call time on their England careers as soon as Capello selected them.

It was an embarrassing double snub for Capello at a time when he is keen to move on from England’s World Cup second round exit against Germany.

Ashley Cole added to the impression that Capello has lost the respect of his players when he seemed to ignore the England coach’s offer of a handshake in the royal box after Sunday’s Community Shield, although the Chelsea defender later claimed he didn’t notice the Italian.

However, Capello remains convinced he retains the confidence of the team and he refused to condemn Robinson and Brown for their retirement.

“I accept the decisions,” Capello said on Monday. “Robinson called us and said he wanted to stay at home. I spoke with Brown. I told him why I didn’t select him for the World Cup because he didn’t play for the last two months (of last season).

“This time I selected him because he played all the pre-season games but he said, ‘thank you, but I’ve decided I prefer to stay at home’.

“You have to accept what they want to do. I think it’s an honour to be with the national team and to play for England.”

Capello had already apologised last week for England’s failure to live up to expectations in South Africa and he again said sorry to fans in an attempt to defuse the expected hostile reception from the Wembley crowd on Wednesday.

“I am sorry to the fans because the performances were no good. We know fans spend a lot of money and time to support us in South Africa and we are really sorry,” Capello said.

The former AC Milan coach believes his players underachieved because they were suffering from tired bodies and fearful minds, but he is still unsure how to fix the latter problem.

“South Africa wasn’t good but we did not play at the same level that we played in qualification. When you play a World Cup competition, you have to arrive in really good physical condition,” Capello said.

“We were not so fresh as the games we played before the World Cup. We changed some things but it was not enough.

“Another thing really important thing is the mind of the players. We played not with confidence but with fear. I don’t know what we have to do to improve the mind of the players.”

Paul Robinson of England catches the ball during an England training session at Arsenal’s training facility in London Colney, 2009. Fabio Capello insists he still has the support of England’s players despite the international retirements of Robinson and Wes Brown less than 24 hours after the duo had been called up for Wednesday’s friendly against Hungary.
Capello is determined to make a success of the England job even though he faces a uphill task to convince a sceptical public of his ability to get more from a group of players who have repeatedly failed in major tournaments.

“Every experience is important for the manager and everyone, you learn a lot,” he said.

“When you lose the experience is important. You have to understand what really happened. You have to see if I or we made mistakes and improve. Everyone made mistakes.

“They (the FA) respect my job and have confidence in my quality. If I am here it is because I can do something for this team. My experience is good to improve the team.”

Only 16 of Capello’s squad trained on Monday, with Sunderland striker Darren Bent out with a back injury and Glen Johnson and Gareth Barry sidelined with ankle knocks.

Capello will take a closer look at youngsters Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs this week, but he warned the Arsenal duo they must play regularly to stay in his squad.

“Players need to play. It’s important to play, to be able to monitor them,” Capello added.