WORLD CUP QUALIFYING GROUP SIX:FRANK LAMPARD last night delivered a scathing assessment of recent England regimes by crediting Fabio Capello for succeeding where previous incumbents had failed in instilling discipline, humility and a "selfless" attitude into the squad to mould them into a coherent team.
England are steadily recovering their poise after the desperate underachievement of the latter years of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s reign and Steve McClaren’s brief tenure and will go into tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine attempting to stretch Capello’s winning start to five competitive games.
Much has been made of the rules and regulations instigated by the Italian at squad get-togethers, whether it be over dress or punctuality, but Lampard cited the players’ willingness to put individualism aside and buy into a team ethic as key to the recent revival.
“Capello was exactly what we needed,” said the Chelsea midfielder. “We needed a bit more selflessness in the side. At times it was easy to see we played as individuals too much in the past. We have very, very good individuals, but the team didn’t perform because we weren’t playing as a group. To play as a team, you need to have humility and to be selfless. You need to work for your mate next to you, or to play out of position if that’s what is required. That kind of thing. That’s something he needed to bring, and he’s brought it.
“We needed a very strong man in charge. Sure, in terms of the off-the-field stuff he’s brought in – the discipline around the place in terms of dress, around the hotel, or dinners – but also in footballing terms. We needed a very strong leader who had his own mind. With Capello, we have that. At Real Madrid, he’d make strong decisions on players. They weren’t always what people might have considered the favourable or glamorous decisions, but it was always for the benefit of the team.
“Everyone has an opinion on England – quite rightly so because we’re all English – but we need a strong man who will not listen to anyone else and will go his route. The England job is the hardest for me because of that intense pressure, the fact that you’re not able to work with your players regularly, and that everyone has an opinion as to who should be playing.”
Capello’s insistence that club form and fitness rather than previous achievements are critical when it comes to selection has served to shrug seasoned players out of their comfort zones, with Lampard admitting he no longer takes a call-up for granted. “There were probably times when I’d just wait for the text to come through, rather than looking up who was in the squad the moment it was announced,” he admitted.
“The fact he picks on form is something that was needed. Now there’s an element of being kept on our toes, which can only be a good thing: perform for your club to a standard to get into the squad, and you’re in. We just needed someone to put us in line a little bit and get us concentrating on what we’re doing. At times being told you have to do this or wear that can be a slight culture shock, but then you start winning games and you buy into it.”
The head coach will train with a full 22-man squad at London Colney today having welcomed Shaun Wright-Phillips back after an ankle problem. Peter Crouch (dead leg) and Rio Ferdinand (back) were able to play some part yesterday and should be fully involved this morning.
Meanwhile, Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has been dropped by Poland for the World Cup qualifier against San Marino tomorrow and is returning to Glasgow.
Boruc has paid the price for a poor display in the 3-2 defeat by Northern Ireland at Windsor Park on Saturday. He was culpable for the first two goals and then let a back-pass go over his foot for the decider.
Poland coach Leo Beenhakker said: “What happened affected the whole team but especially Artur Boruc.”
Guardian Service
