New national team boss Fabio Capello, who will be officially unveiled today, has told an Italian TV station that he believes England's players are lacking 'self-confidence' - but is happy to be taking charge of a 'truly first class squad'.
The 61-year-old Italian coach said: "This team have lost a little bit of their grit, a determination they showed a few years ago. This is a big challenge and a difficult one for me. I will not guide a team on a weekly basis as you do at a club.
"Psychologically, they are a team that needs to find its confidence. I watched them play against Russia and they looked a very impersonal side when playing. It's a team that needs to find itself and that will be my role."
He added: "From tomorrow, I'll learn more English. The most important thing is to get to know the atmosphere. It's a difficult world out there, the tabloids are very aware of what goes on with the national coach, it's a delicate position and I will have to be very careful at all times.
"The most important thing is to be able to work and take this national team where it belongs. It would be the ultimate to win the World Cup and then retire."
Of the appointment of a second foreign coach, Sir Trevor Brooking said: "The top priority was to get a top-class coach who was going to give that side the opportunity to perhaps maximise that potential. And we want to find out what that potential is and where it will end up."
He added: "I found him certainly of the quality and experience that we heard he was. And I did believe he will give that dressing room the opportunity to be pulled together and to be given the confidence to express themselves far better than we saw at the end of the campaign, where I don't think they did themselves justice.
"He thinks he quickly needs to get to know the squad, the players and the individuals to find out why they ended up underperforming as much as they appear to him. I think what you'll find is he has great flexibility in the way he plays and he might not have a set route every game - it depends on who the opposition is."
Meanwhile, former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson was delighted to see his Manchester City side maintain their 100 per cent home record with a 4-2 win against Bolton.
"When I looked at the players as they were about to come out for the second half, they looked a bit like a defeated team," he said, referring to the fact City had relinquished an early lead to go in 2-1 down. "Their heads were down and I said if they carry on looking like that we would not win the game. It changed them and after that they were a lot more positive."
Everton make up the top six, and after the 2-0 win at West Ham, manager David Moyes set his sights on breaking into the top four. "That is the kind of fighting talk I quite enjoy. It is nearly motivation to me. I think 'I'll show you'. "
He added: "It was done two years ago. People say 'can we break into the top four'? "The truth is that has already happened. There are a few teams making a fist of it. People said we couldn't break in and when we did people said it was a blip. We have to do it again.
"This is probably the best squad we have had and they are probably playing the best but they still have to beat the squad that finishes fourth two seasons ago and that will take some doing."
