Saturday, June 19, 2010

England team back Capello - Terry

John Terry and Fabio Capello
Terry has been a key player for the under-fire England boss

John Terry has dismissed reports of discontent within the England camp at the World Cup in South Africa.

The former captain was responding to reports of problems between under-fire manager Fabio Capello and his players.

Terry stressed: "I have seen a few reports myself. There is no unrest in the camp at all.

"I'm not going to sit here and question the manager. I'm here on behalf of all the players to say we are all fully behind him. Everyone is positive."

Earlier, Football Association spokesman Adrian Bevington also denied reports of a rift between Capello and the squad.

When asked if there were problems behind the scenes, Bevington told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek: "Certainly not from what I've seen."

"I'm not aware of any specific problem. The most important thing now is that, as a group, we all stay together," he added.

The pressure is on England after disappointing draws against the United States and Algeria in their opening group matches.

Capello's men must now beat Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday to be sure of a place in the last 16.

Newspaper reports on Sunday suggested unhappiness at Capello's style is rife among his players, and that the Italian's future could be in doubt.

But Bevington stated: "We all know that when results or performances aren't quite what you'd like them to be, particularly when you're the national team and the whole focus of attention is on you, clearly people look for certain angles.

We have a very, very experienced manager who'd been applauded from the minute he's been in the job

Adrian Bevington, Team England managing director

"We've seen this many times over the years, when results aren't going well or we're not quite playing to the level we need to, we then read or hear stories of disharmony or unhappiness in the camp.

"I've been around the England team now for the best part of 13 or 14 years, and I've seen it many times over. What I can say is that we have a very, very experienced manager, who has been applauded from the minute he's been in the job.

"We appreciate that on Friday the performance against Algeria wasn't anywhere near the level that we'd have liked. The players were very open about that, as was the manager."

Capello's decision to play Emile Heskey up front with Wayne Rooney has attracted criticism, with many calling for captain Steven Gerrard to be played in an attacking central midfield role.

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But Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, touted as a possible successor to Capello, has called for Spurs striker Peter Crouch to be given a starting place.

Redknapp said: "If he [Capello] is going to go with two up front, which it looks like he will do, then I'd go for Crouchy. He's got a good goalscoring record for England.

"He and Rooney together would hopefully click and get us the win we need."

When asked about the position in which England find themselves in Group C in South Africa, he commented: "The players are not playing well at the moment and things are getting a little bit edgy. It's all about confidence now.

"We all looked at the group and thought it'd be a walkover. Very often, they're the most difficult games.

"If we get the result we need on Wednesday we'll go into the knockout stage, draw good opposition, and you'll probably see a very different England performance."

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