Capello wants World Cup
Fabio Capello believes the hard work has only just begun as he tries to conquer England's impossible job.
After a rough start to his reign, Capello has ended his first year as England coach with high approval ratings from the country's notoriously hard to please football public.
The Italian arrived to find morale in the squad at rock bottom after England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, but he gradually managed to rebuild his players' shattered morale to the extent that they won their first four World Cup qualifiers.
In the boom or bust world of English football that winning streak has been heralded as a noteworthy triumph for Capello's management.
But transforming England from the widely derided underachievers into the cohesive unit who shattered Croatia's unbeaten home record and defeated arch rivals Germany in Berlin was the easy part according to Capello.
Now the former AC Milan and Real Madrid manager knows he has to build on the foundations laid in the past 12 months and raise England to a far higher level than they have reached at any time in the last decade.
Capello isn't interested in merely taking part in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. For such a serial winner, only returning to London with the trophy itself will be enough.
"We started one year ago when all the people, all the journalists, they said it was the impossible job. The team was not very good after they missed out on qualification for the Euros but we worked a lot," he said.
"It is easy to progress when you start at the bottom and go up. Now it is more difficult.
"When you start at the bottom it is easy to go forward. Now we have to bond together to take the next step. It will be very difficult.
"We did good things and we arrived at a good level. But now we have to consolidate this level and be even better.
"Sometimes when we play during the game I can see mistakes and we want to cancel out these mistakes.
"But I think we have a great spirit in the team and we play with confidence. The most important work will be to keep this psychologically."
To achieve success in South Africa, Capello will have to blend established stars like John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, with the emerging young talents who have made convincing cases for regular international action this season.
Gabriel Agbonlahor's superb debut against Germany underlined his credentials and his Aston Villa teammate Ashley Young is clearly capable of making an impact as well.
But Capello hinted that Villa boss Martin O'Neill has another potential England international on his hands as he sung the praises of winger James Milner.
"I'm very happy, because only Milner of the English players is not with us. He was close when he was a Newcastle player, but was injured before we put him in the squad," Capello said.
"I saw a game against Liverpool for Newcastle but he was injured after half-an-hour.
"He was very, very interesting when we saw him play for the U21s at Southampton against the Republic of Ireland. He scored two goals in the first game I saw.
"I remember this game because I thought he was a good player. Agbonolahor and Young played before for the national team, but Milner is another interesting young player."
While Capello is keen to harness the enthusiasm and energy of England's young guns, he is more circumspect about the futures of David Beckham and Michael Owen.
Both have faded from the picture under Capello, with Owen banished from the squad completely and Beckham reduced to bit-part roles from the bench.
Capello offered only a glimmer of hope that 2009 will be any different.
"Michael Owen is one of the important players for England. But first of all he has to be fit when I decide the squad," Capello said. "For Beckham and all the players it's the same."
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