2pm: Capello didn’t look altogether comfortable during that press
conference. He, understandably, came under pressure with a tough line of
questioning and he certainly didn’t seem altogether happy with the FA’s
decision to take two weeks to consider his future.
He did, however, reiterate that he would not walk away from his position as
England manager.
He was asked: “Do you want to stay on as England manager?” His response:
“Absolutely.”
1.58pm: Adrian Bevington, the director of Club England, interjects and
brings an end to proceedings. His final words are: “Fabio does not set his
salary. I think everyone would agree that coming into this tournament, he
had one of the best records in the game in qualifying England for this
tournament. When we appointed him, English football was on the floor after
we failed to qualify for a major tournament. It is important to remember
that Fabio restored confidence. That is all for now, we have to move on ...”
1.57pm: Capello is asked whether he is still worth the £6 million a
season he is paid by the FA. Capello says: “When the FA decided to
pick me as manager. I spoke with the people and they decided to give me this
money. But the money is not why I took the job. I refused a lot of
opportunities with important clubs because I want to stay as England
manager. I like this job. I like to be England manager.”
1.56pm: The Italian is asked whether any of the England players had
been difficult to deal with. “No. Absolutely not. They were happy.”
1.55pm: Capello is asked if there should be a winter break in England:
“Yes. But that is not for me to decide. Germany have one and they are always
stronger in the second half of the season.”
1.54pm: Capello adds: “I learnt a lot from this tournament. The players
trained very well, they were focused every time but the performance was not
right. We were very tired.”
1.53pm: Capello is asked whether 4-4-2 is out of date: “It is a good
style depends on form of the players. It depends on physical situation, not
style.”
1.51pm: Adrian Bevington, the director of Club England, adds: “Sir Dave
[Richards] met with Fabio this morning. We are all very clear that Fabio is
under contract with the FA until the 2012 European Championships and nothing
has changed in that respect. Obviously everybody is very disappointed today
with the fact that we’ve gone out of the World Cup in a manner that everyone
back in England and the fans that have travelled are incredibly frustrated
with. So it makes perfect sense for us to go back to London and take stock
of the situation, reflect fully on the tournament and see what we can take
from it and just speak to Fabio from there.
“I don’t think there is anything sinister in it beyond that other than we just
want to make sure that we show a common-sense approach rather than making
any other snap knee-jerk reactions within 24 hours of a very disappointing
result.”
1.50pm: Capello is asked why he failed to get the best out of Wayne
Rooney: “Not just Wayne Rooney but all the English players are really tired.
I spoke with the players and they told me that the physical situation of the
players was not as we know. Rooney played well some games but you can’t
speak about one player. The players were not the ones we know. I can see the
games we played against Mexico and Japan and here against the USA and
Algeria, we played moments well but not so fast.”
1.48pm: Capello: “I spoke with Sir Dave Richards and he told me he
needs two weeks to decide. I said I can be the manager of England for the
next season, but it is for him (Richards) to decide. We spoke also about the
players that can play for the next qualification and I know what I have to
do
Capello is asked: “Do you want to stay on as England manager?” His response:
“Absolutely.”
1.46pm: We’re off.
)
