Former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister believes England manager Fabio Capello has a lot of thinking to do between now and Euro 2012.
England finished top of their qualifying group to reach next year's tournament in Poland and Ukraine despite a series of unspectacular performances under Capello, who has already confirmed his intention to resign after the competition.
Pallister told Press Association Sport: "We're still a work in progress at the moment with Capello and this England team; it's also a bit of a spanner thrown in the works with Wayne Rooney being suspended."
He added: "That's a huge loss so it's how we adapt to that and at this moment in time, I don't think he (Capello) knows what his strongest side is or how he wants to play."
Wayne Rooney was sent off in the final qualifying game in Montenegro and the Football Association are in the process of appealing a three-game ban which, if upheld, would rule the talismanic striker out of the group stages of the European Championship.
Pallister, who played 22 times for England between 1988 and 1996, acknowledges Rooney's absence is a massive blow to Capello's plans but also feels the Italian is struggling to make up his mind on a number of issues.
The 46-year-old hopes Capello can improve his team's fortunes to silence the critics and leave a lasting legacy.
"The European Championships will tell us a lot about Fabio Capello and his style of management in his time in England," Pallister said. "I think the jury's still out.
"If I was a betting man at the moment, I certainly wouldn't put us down as one of the favourites but there's still quite a bit of time to go before we play in the European Championships and we've certainly got players who are capable of doing well there.
"It's how we harness that talent I think and get the best out of the England players that we've got."
Source: PA
