CAPELLO WARNS: SLACKERS BEWARE

FABIO CAPELLO is demanding his England stars swagger like would-be champions from now on.

The Three Lions boss wants his side to exude total confidence in every match as they prepare for next summer's World Cup finals.

England's emphatic 5-1 home win over Croatia last month secured their place in South Africa but the Italian coach will not countenance any complacency.

Capello wants his men to step up their efforts for the upcoming qualifiers against the Ukraine and Belarus, reminding them there are just four games left before he names his provisional squad for the finals.

And he wants England to march into South Africa brimful of belief they can become World Champions.

Capello said: "We are England, one of the best teams in the world, and we can play against the best and be confident that we can win.

"Yes we have to respect our opponents but play as a team and without fear in every game.

"We have to play in the same style and with the same focus in these next games as we did for the other qualification games.

"In fact, we have to improve in every game. For this reason, the next few games are very important."

Capello says he will be watching his players even more closely from now on to ensure there is no slacking off - and woe betide anyone who takes it easy. It could cost them their World Cup squad place.

Capello said: "Before the World Cup we play only four more games - these two qualifiers, the game against Brazil and another friendly. And if we want to improve we have to play very well in these matches."

For this reason Capello intends to keep on picking his strongest side for every match, although he admits he will experiment a little in forthcoming fixtures.

"I want to play with the best players in the first half always. After, in the second half, it is possible I will make some substitutions. But for me, these are not friendly games and not for experiments.

Capello has already decided to reward Manchester United's Michael Carrick's fine form with a start in one of the qualifiers over the next 10 days.

And he is set to give Aston Villa goal-getter Gabriel Agbonlahor the nod if Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe is ruled out of the qualifiers due to a broken finger.

Emile Heskey will still be included despite losing his Villa place to Agbon- lahor, while Capello hopes Chelsea's Joe Cole and Arsenal's Theo Walcott will be fully recovered from injury by November and the friendly against Brazil.

The Italian said "They are one of the best teams in the history of football. So for me it will be very interesting.

"It is our first game against a South American team and their style is different to European teams.

"So it will be important for us to know what we have to do if we play in the World Cup against a South American country."

Watch Ukraine v England live on the web with the News of the World - it's not being shown on TV. For full details please visit http://www.ukrainevengland.com/newsoftheworld .

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