Gerrard backs Capello to inspire England

LONDON, England -- Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is backing new coach Fabio Capello to turn England from nearly men into winners.

The Italian held his first team meeting and open training session with the squad on Monday since replacing Steve McClaren as head coach two months ago.

Gerrard said the former Real Madrid boss stressed the need for England to discover the "winning mentality" and to improve after their failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

"We will have to wait and see what the future holds in terms of results but there is certainly a big excitement in the squad regarding the new manager," said midfielder Gerrard.

"He has got a wonderful CV and, wherever he has been a manager, he has been very successful.

"As a player you think, 'can he make the good players we have into a successful winning team?' - and I am very confident that can happen.

"The players are definitely there in terms of ability and we are hopeful the manager can bring the right results to the team. He is certainly someone who is going to have his own ideas and will make changes.

"He said to us in a team meeting and also on the training ground today that he has paid attention to watching how we perform individually and as a team. He has watched a lot of our games.

"He has made it clear he wants a winning mentality round the place. He wants to build a winning team with all the players pulling in the right direction."

Gerrard expects Capello to waste no time in stamping his mark on the squad as they prepare for Wednesday's Wembley friendly against Switzerland.

He added: "The new manager has already said we need to become better defensively and going forward. I am sure he knows where we have to improve and what needs to be done to make that happen for when we get to the important games."

Gerrard has no concerns about Capello's reputation for keeping a distance between himself and the players and made joking references to the fact a similar relationship exists between himself and Rafael Benitez at Anfield.

He said: "I'm used to that! I don't think that will be a problem just as long as there is a big respect between the manager and the players.

"I don't think it is about enjoying yourself with the manager off the pitch. It is all about seriousness and getting results in an England shirt. That is the most important thing, not having a laugh and a joke."

Gerrard could be in line to lead out the team against the Swiss given that current skipper John Terry is still injured.

Capello will take time to assess who will eventually wear the armband on a permanent basis once the World Cup qualifiers get under way in September, but Gerrard is reluctant to talk up his own chances.

He said: "If you captain your country it is a great honor and that would be the case if I am asked. But we have got to respect the fact that John Terry is still our captain.

"Until something changes, he is our leader. Obviously, he is not involved on Wednesday and it would be nice to lead England out but, until the manager makes a decision, I don't want to say too much about it."

Gerrard also expects the language barrier not to be a problem in dealing with Capello, who vowed when originally given the job to quickly learn how to communicate with his players in English.

The midfielder said: "His team meeting and what he said on the training pitch was all said in English and it was really good. Everyone could understand what he was saying.

"It was good because people had been saying there would be problems with him talking in English but that was not the case and things went better in that sense than I thought they would."

Shaun Wright-Phillips missed England training at Wembley on Monday night, but could still be available for the friendly.

The Chelsea midfielder was rested as a precaution and medical staff will assess his fitness tomorrow before making a decision.

An FA spokesman confirmed: "The problem is not thought to be serious." E-mail to a friend