England lack confidence - Capello
New England coach Fabio Capello says he has a group of "first-class" players but that his biggest challenge will be to restore their "winning mentality".
The Italian, 61, will be unveiled as Steve McClaren's successor at a London news conference at 1300 GMT today.
And he told an Italian TV station on Sunday that he believes England's players are lacking "self-confidence".
"This team have lost a little bit of their grit, a determination they showed a few years ago," he said.
Capello, who has signed a four-and-a-half year contract, will start his reign on 7 January.
"This is a big challenge and a difficult one for me," Capello told Italian television station Rai Due in his final appearance as one of their pundits after agreeing to end his media commitments as part of his new role.
"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 need to find itself and that will be my role."
The 61-year-old, who will make his first appearance in front of an expectant media at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in west London, said he "hoped to get back some players who have withdrawn from the team".
That could be a reference to Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, who has quit international football because of a paucity of opportunity, and possibly Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes.
Capello's first game in charge will be the friendly against Switzerland at Wembley on 6 February.
With England failing to qualify for Euro 2008, his first competitive game will be a World Cup qualifier on 6 September.
Although he emphasised the differences between being a club manager and running a national team, he likened the England job to his task at his last job, at Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants had been through three years of failure when he rejoined them at the start of the 2006-7 season, but he led them to the Primera Liga title before being sacked for a supposedly boring style of play.
"It's a little bit like what happened with me at Real Madrid when I returned this time," Capello said. "They had a team that had lost all of their characteristics and self-confidence."
He admitted that he needed to work on his English, and said he was aware of the pressure he was likely to be under from the tabloid press.
"From tomorrow, I'll learn more English. The most important thing is to get to know the atmosphere," he said.
"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."
Capello also confirmed the England role will be his last in a career which has seen him take charge of AC Milan, Roma, Real Madrid and Juventus.
"It would be the ultimate to win the World Cup and then retire," he said.
