Source: Eurosport
Pearce warns England coach will stand no nonsense
England coach Fabio Capello will stand no nonsense if his players step out of line ahead of next year's World Cup finals, assistant Stuart Pearce said on Thursday.
England have qualified for the tournament in South Africa with two games to spare and Pearce said the discipline instilled by the coach was partly responsible.
"I've a great schoolmaster in Fabio Capello. He treats the new arrivals in the team in the same way as he treats (captain) John Terry," said under-21 coach Pearce.
"If you step out of line once you will be told. If you do it twice you won't be told again.
"He's created an environment where there's a fair playing field whoever you are. The only thing that matters is if you are good enough," added Pearce.
Although he believes England have got the talent to perform well at the finals, Pearce has one nagging concern.
"Game management is the one thing where we are really naive," he said.
Asked to explain, Pearce added: "When you are in a cul-de-sac by the corner flag what are you looking to achieve? Get a corner out of it, kill the game, slow the game?
HIGH TEMPO
"We play at such a high tempo in this country, when we go to major tournaments we do the same thing and then all of a sudden we run out of gas after four or five games."
Pearce is a former manager of Manchester City and warned the recent Arab takeover of the Premier League team must not result in the club losing their identity.
Speaking at the League Managers Association's annual conference, he said: "When I was at City they had one of the best academies in the country. The club was kept running by its academy and a nucleus of young players like Micah Richards and Stephen Ireland.
"It is important the football club does not lose that identity.
"The community loves the idea of local players who come through and get into the team. There is a pride in seeing the local boy run out for the local team," added Pearce.
