Fabio Capello said on Monday he wants to continue as England manager but revealed he had been told by the Football Association (FA) that they would need two weeks to decide whether to keep him in the post.
Despite being savaged by the media in the wake of England’s 1-4 record World Cup finals thrashing by Germany in their Last 16 match, Capello said he wanted to see out a contract that runs until after the finals of Euro 2012.
“I have a contract and I refused a lot of opportunities to be the manager of important clubs because I want to stay here,” Capello told reporters. “I like this job. I like to be the England manager.”
Capello said the FA had to decide whether they still wanted him in the wake of England’s heaviest defeat in a World Cup and admitted he had not won an immediate vote of confidence from Sir Dave Richards, currently the senior figure in the governing body.
“I spoke this morning with Sir Dave,” Capello added. “He told me that he needs two weeks time to decide. I said that I can be, next season, the manager of England but they have to decide. Do I want to stay on? Absolutely.”
In a sign that English football’s governing body is unlikely to seek to dismiss Capello — a move that could cost them several million pounds in compensation — an FA spokesman said that “nothing sinister” should be read into Capello’s chat with Richards.
“We are all very clear Fabio is under contract until 2012 and nothing has changed in that respect,” the spokesman, Adrian Bevington, said. “We are very disappointed to have gone out early and it makes perfect sense to go back to London, take stock and then speak to Fabio from there,” he said.
Bevington added: “It is very important to remember we hired Fabio at a time when we were, as a nation, on the floor having failed to reach a major tournament (Euro 2008). He completely restored our confidence and before this tournament we had an outstanding record in the qualifying campaign.”
Capello admitted the England squad would have to be shaken up with key players entering their 30s, but also pointed out that the domestic club season inevitably meant players arrived tired at international tournaments. — AFP