England boss Fabio Capello's successor will be an Englishman, the Football Association has pledged. The Italian's contract runs until 2012, although he remains under pressure after England's poor World Cup. "We are working on the basis that Fabio will be with us until 2012," the FA's Adrian Bevington told BBC 5 live. "The view beyond that, based on the discussions I've been involved in, is that we should have an English manager after that." Speaking to 5 live's Sportsweek program, FA Club England managing director Bevington added: "We enjoyed working with Sven-Goran Eriksson, and we have Fabio Capello in now. I think the English team should be managed by an English manager [in the future]."
Capello has been heavily criticised since England's dismal World Cup campaign was ended at the last-16 stage by a humiliating 4-1 loss to Germany. The former AC Milan and Real Madrid boss has been accused of poor communication on and off the pitch, culminating in the clumsy manner in which he ended midfielder David Beckham's international career. The Italian announced the decision while being interviewed by a TV channel without having informed the 115-cap player of his decision. Capello's assistant, Franco Baldini, was left to tell Beckham his international career was at an end before the interview was aired.
The decisions of keeper Paul Robinson and defender Wes Brown to retire from international football rather than meet up with the squad for last week's friendly with Hungary have also heaped more pressure on the beleaguered manager.
