I can cope with the pressure - Capello

FABIO Capello insists he is strong enough to cope with the pressure of England’s do–or–die clash with Slovenia on Wednesday.

With speculation mounting that Capello will quit if England fail to secure a place in the knockout stages, and his players openly questioning a hard–line strategy that appears ill–suited to spending weeks away in camp, the Italian has to try and keep a cool head.

It is not going to be an easy task but Capello insists he can cope.

“I am strong enough to deal with it,” he said. “It is no problem for me. I work hard and I prepare everything. That is important.

The senior Football Association figures in South Africa insist they remain solidly behind Capello and are not even thinking about the worst-case scenario.

But Capello admits he is at a loss to explain precisely why his team have been performing so poorly.

The Italian has seen some excellent training ground performances completely fail to be transferred into a match situation.

“Yes, it almost feels like all the work of the last two years has been for nothing,” he sighed.