Capello seeks to rebuild England confidence

London: Fabio Capello goes into tomorrow night's European Championship qualifier against Bulgaria at Wembley under intense scrutiny.

It is the first competitive game since that bitterly disappointing World Cup encounter with Germany; the first opportunity for the FA to get some idea if Capello can indeed revive his stuttering England team or if, after 30 matches, his time as an international manager is drawing to a depressing close.

When Capello returned to England's base in Rustenburg the day after that crushing 4-1 defeat in Bloemfontein, he spoke of his ‘anger' and his frustration that his team were suffering from serious end-of-season fatigue. He blamed the physical demands of the Barclays Premier League. But he was also at a loss to explain everything.

"When I arrived here I don't understand what happened," he said. "They are the same players. But what happened?"

Two months on, ahead of Bulgaria and the meeting with Switzerland in Basle on Tuesday, he needs to demonstrate that he now has some of the answers, as well as addressing the following key areas of concern.

Management style

Morale, understandably, is low among players after South Africa; among the management staff, too, judging by their mood in recent weeks.

England's performances at the World Cup came as a real shock, given how comfortably they had qualified for the tournament, and now it is a case of rebuilding shattered confidence.

Yesterday, FA officials rejected the idea that the governing body's top brass have ordered the Italian to lighten up, arguing that they would not dream of trying to change the approach of a 64-year-old manager who has proved so successful at club level.

But the more relaxed approach Capello began to adopt in South Africa is continuing this week, with the players having been told they can spend a few hours with their wives and partners at the hotel on Saturday afternoon before reporting back for a team meal that night.

In the light of the latest revelations about Mikel Arteta, Capello might also want to stress to his players that his interest in recruiting Everton's Spanish midfielder does not reveal a lack of faith in those he has selected. This week, England's players responded awkwardly to questions over Arteta but Gareth Barry clearly wasn't keen on losing his place to a man born and raised in Spain.

"It's such a hard debate, isn't it?" said Barry. "A lot of other countries are doing it. The German team in the summer had a high percentage of players who weren't born in the country. If you're next in and then you find Mikel Arteta has taken your place, it's going to be frustrating."

But it's not just the players who are down. According to observers inside the FA, Capello has the look of a man who does not appear to be enjoying his job.