Capello hails England spirit

England manager Fabio Capello hailed the spirit shown by his side as they comfortably defeated Bulgaria in their Euro 2012 qualifier.

Gary Cahill netted his first senior England goal, before a brace from Wayne Rooney sealed the win and sent England three points clear in Group G, delighting the Italian coach.

“It was important to win here,” Capello told Sky Sports.

“We played a really good game, it wasn’t easy here. We scored good goals, we played really well through the game.”

“At some moments we pressed a lot and won the ball, at other moments we didn’t press and go forward for the last 10 minutes of the first half.”

“But I’m happy, for the group but also for the spirit of the team.”

“Some players didn’t play a lot of games this season, but I saw the forwards come back to help the midfielders, they in turn to help the defenders and also the midfielders go forwards. It was good to see the players fight to win.”

The Three Lions boss praised the versatility of his players, particularly Ashley Young, who was influential as a creative forward operating behind and around Rooney.

“Young played a different style last year with Aston Villa but the position of the group with (Stewart) Downing means that we can change the positions of the players,” Capello explained.

“Right wing, left wing, it depends on which moment they are finding on the pitch as to where they decide to stay.”

And the 65-year-old had special praise for Rooney after his two-goal performance.

“Rooney was very good,” he said. “He fought a lot, he ran a lot, he was important point of the attack, and his movement without the ball, when he received the ball, he was always important.”

“He’s a leader on the pitch, but all the players played really well.”

However, Capello still feels there is work to do to improve his side.

“We’ve got players with a lot of quality. They are very good technically,” he said.

“We need to improve, press more without the ball. All these players who played this evening are really fast, and when they go towards the box they are very dangerous, but sometimes when there are openings without the ball, we need to improve.”