Capello still believes in England dream

Fabio Capello has insisted he wasn't crazy to believe England could reach the World Cup final even though his side face potential elimination at the first hurdle if they fail to beat Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.

Consecutive draws, 1-1 against the United States and 0-0 against Algeria, have left England, one of the pre-tournament favourites, in a precarious position and under intense pressure ahead of their final fixture in Group C.

Add in stories of mutiny in the camp this week when former captain John Terry hinted players were unhappy with Capello's austere and restrictive managerial style - not to mention some of his team selections - and it paints a miserable picture for England fans.

But Capello, who guided his team to nine wins in 10 qualifying games to reach the finals, says he still has an inherent belief in his players.

"I think we have good players but now they are not at the top like we played in the qualification," he said.

"But this group is really good. I'm not crazy when I said my target is the final of the World Cup. Because I'm sure this is a really good group. We will win and afterwards all the teams will have to fight against us."

Capello appeared piqued by a suggestion his reputation could be at stake if England fail to reach the knockout stages, which remain a possibiilty if they fail to beat Slovenia.

"My target as you know was to go right to the final so it would not be a good result. But I think like a team, like a group, not individually. My reputation is not important."

Captain Steven Gerrard, however, has left his team-mates in no doubt about just how serious elimination from the tournament would be after arriving in South Africa as one of the favourites to challenge Brazil and Spain.

He said: "The last thing we want is to go out in the group stages. We have come here to stay in this tournament to the end and I think it would be an absolute disaster for this group of players to go home after the groups stages. You want more than that.

"We want to put in a performance. That's the key, to play without the fear. There is pressure, there's no doubt about it, playing for England - we have massive support.

"But it doesn't help to go onto the pitch with fear, you have to try and let it go and relax and hopefully the performance will come. The pressure is on us because we need to win the game. But we have to live with that. We need to play with that on our shoulders and get on with it."

England are expected to stick with John Terry at the heart of their defence, even though the Chelsea defender was told by Capello that his misguided press conference in midweek was a 'big mistake'.

Matthew Upson is favourite to partner him with Jamie Carragher suspended and Ledley King injured.

But Capello has remained tight-lipped over whether he will make changes in attack or midfield, with Jermain Defoe, Joe Cole and James Milner all challenging for selection.

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