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Capello not concerned by England performance

Fabio Capello was able to take plenty of positives from England's performance © Getty Images

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England coach Fabio Capello appeared to be happy with his squad's work after a 3-1 World Cup warm-up victory at home to Mexico.

While the English press took the opportunity to raise more questions than answers, Capello was happy to look at what he learnt from the exercise as the team played the first of two games before they fly out to South Africa.

He was quick to praise the performance of Steven Gerrard, who showed his versatility in playing in a number of positions as Capello tested formations.

"Gerrard can play in midfield with Frank Lampard but we have to wait and see which players will be fit,'' said Capello, obviously referring to the availability of Gareth Barry for the finals. Barry, who suffered ankle ligament damage at the start of the month, is due to undergo crucial medical tests on Tuesday to determine his chances of being fit for the finals.

"I changed it after half-time and put Steven in the middle, where he played very well. He is a really good player and can play in midfield, as a number 10, in lots of different positions.

"I am not concerned [with the performance]. It was really important to know where we are now, physically and mentally after a long season. We have time to recover a lot of the spirit of the team and the qualities we have.

"When we play counter-attacking, we are really dangerous. But I don't just want to play on the counter. I want more.''

What Capello doesn't want is to get sidetracked by reports linking him with jobs elsewhere, this time Inter Milan, who are about to lose Champions League-winning coach Jose Mourinho.

"Juventus, Inter, Real Madrid, the other teams, AC Milan,'' he smiled. "It's good for me but I am focused on the World Cup.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.