Cole hails impact of Capello

Ashley Cole has hailed the impact on the England squad of manager Fabio Capello.

The Chelsea left-back believes that Capello has removed the fear factor from England's performances after they booked their spot in the 2010 World Cup finals by overwhelming Croatia 5-1 at Wembley.

"I think Mr Capello has had a very big impact. He has instilled a lot of confidence, belief and courage to play," he told TheFA.com.

"Sometimes in the past we got a little bit scared of the ball, particularly at home, and we were scared to make a mistake. Now it's different.

"People will make mistakes but the manager has brought a lot out of the players. At the World Cup, hopefully his knowledge at winning at the highest level will give us that edge."

"We know with the players England have, we should be achieving more than we have in the past.

"When we have got to tournaments in the past, we've perhaps gone into our own shells a little.

"I think the manager has just tried to draw that confidence out from the players and the team and that has made us get better together.

"He knows how to get a team together and it certainly seems to be working so far. He is trying to get the best out of the players and he doesn't see us every day so it can be hard.

"Mr Capello has done a great job so far and he will have more time to get the best out of us ahead of and in South Africa."