England manager Fabio Capello has stated that he will consider the World Cup a failure if his side not make it to the final in South Africa (England 6/1 to win the World Cup outright).

Capello has already picked his 30-man squad which will be whittled down to 23 on June 1 after friendlies against Mexico and Japan and a training camp in Austria (England 1/3 to win Group C).

The England boss has stated that it will be hard to choose which unfortunate seven will not go to the World Cup, but he will be telling them personally when he has made his decision.

Capello’s final squad are aiming to go all the way in this year’s tournament and the manager has said that the English media has affected how he coaches the side.

He said: “Every day the media here comes up with something new and the media has a lot of clout, they really influence public opinion.

“But you have to recognise that, at the same time, they have the pulse of English society. It’s part of the job and that’s why I’m here. If we don’t at least reach the final, we will have failed,” he added.

Capello has also revealed his opinions on the state of the England squad before he took over from former manager Steve McClaren.

He said: “When I arrived, I saw players who were switched off, scared, without a sense of belonging. I was surprised.

“So I tightened the screws, I demanded professionalism and this cemented our team,” he added.

Capello wants his side to focus fully on their task at the World Cup and not let distractions of potential summer transfers take precedence.

Speculation on the future of some of the England players have been in the media recently with Steven Gerrard’s position at Liverpool in question after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League.

The England manager said: “I hope the players do not change their team or have negotiations,” he remarked. “It disturbs the players all the time.”

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