YORK City manager Gary Mills has admitted he was “absolutely delighted” to learn of Fabio Capello’s decision to step down as England manager.

Mills also shares the popular view that Capello’s successor should be an Englishman and that Harry Redknapp would be the ideal candidate.

The Minstermen chief added that the FA should be held accountable for the massive salaries shelled out to Capello and previous overseas coach Sven Goran-Eriksson.

And, while the last two natives of this country to be handed the job – Kevin Keegan and Steve McClaren – fared even worse in the position than both Eriksson and Capello, Mills believes a compatriot is now needed to instill some national pride back into the players.

He said: “I was absolutley delighted when I heard Fabio Capello had gone because I am a manager who would like an Englishman in charge of the national team. I didn’t like it when Sven Goran-Eriksson came in and I felt the same with Capello in charge.

“The FA have got a lot to answer for. They are stubborn and think they know best.

“It all boils down to them believing the Italian or continental way is better than what we have in England and that’s the wrong message to send out. I think we should stick to what we are about as Englishmen.

“We talk about the Three Lions and, if that’s what we are, then let’s get back to it. I don’t think Eriksson or Capello have achieved anything and it’s cost the FA a lot of money and time to get to that point.

“The FA have tried to buy success and the World Cup by getting who they thought were the right men for the job but I never thought they were and so many games have passed us by now. We were a laughing stock at the last World Cup and it’s time to get back to basics.

“You need more than passion but playing for England has got to mean something. You can’t convince me that Eriksson and Capello could ever turn themselves into Englishmen and the players don’t look like they enjoy playing for their country any more.

“It all seems an effort. Let’s get back to being proud to pull on the shirt and running through brick walls for England.”

The clamour for Redknapp began within minutes of Capello’s departure and the Tottenham boss’ timely not guilty verdict in his tax evasion trial.

As part of his defence statement to police, Redknapp admitted that he could not write a letter, send an email or text a message but that is unlikely to prevent him from becoming one of the highest-paid employees in the country.

Mills, meanwhile, feels the White Hart Lane chief will help lighten the mood in the England camp and create a team spirit that has been missing perhaps since Terry Venables left the role after taking the Three Lions to the European Championship semi finals in 1996.

He said: “I think Harry Redknapp’s the right man – I really do. He gets his teams playing with smiles on their faces and England’s players need to start doing that again.

“You can see his players enjoy their football and want to express themselves, work for each other and play for him.”

Dubbed the “impossible job” in certain quarters, Mills also believes Capello and others have made the England manager’s position seem more difficult than it should be with a lack of consistency in team selection.

Despite qualifying as group winners for this summer’s European Championships under Capello, only goalkeeper Joe Hart and left-back Ashley Cole seemingly go into the tournament assured of starting places due to Wayne Rooney’s suspension and Mills is staggered by that situation, saying: “You would never turn down managing England and I don’t think it’s an impossible job.

“That belief has been created by the people who have been appointed and how they’ve gone about managing England. It summed it up when we went to the World Cup not knowing which one of the three ’keepers would be in goal 24 hours before the first game and then Rob Green went in and let one go through his legs.

“You’ve got to know who your best players are and pick them. If they then have a dip in form, then you bring somebody else in but the number of caps they give out these days must cost a fortune alone.

“Nobody knows what the best England side is at the moment and that amazes me because, when I was a teenager, everyone knew what the best team was.

“The managers have always moaned that they don’t get enough time with the team and, then when they do, everyone gets half-an-hour or 20-minute run outs. For me, the best team should play in every game.”

Mills also believes the issue that seemingly led to Capello’s resignation – the FA’s decision to relieve John Terry of his captaincy with the Chelsea defender set to answer racism charges immediately after this summer’s tournament – should not have heralded such major repercussions.

The City chief has dropped his own skipper, Chris Smith, twice this season and feels the role has acquired an inflated significance.

He added: “Too much has been made of the England captaincy. It’s no big thing.

“The captain is just one of 11 players. He doesn’t pick the team and he is no better than any other player and shouldn’t be treated any differently.

“The most important thing is to pick the right 11 players for each game and then think about who your captain will be.

“Let’s get the manager and the starting XI right first because that’s more important.

“Having said that, if you are going to be an England captain, you have got to be respected by young players for the right reasons in terms of the way you live your life and go about your job.”

Mills would also like to see more realistic expectations of the national team and reckons an acceptance of the Three Lions’ limitations is needed before the next coach can concentrate on improving fortunes.

He said: “There’s a tendency in this country to think that when England win a game they are going to win everything but, when we lose a game, we are hopeless. I think we just have to be honest.

“We are not as good as Spain and we can’t kid ourselves that we are because we beat them in a friendly.

“That’s not to say we never will be but I think we will achieve more now if we admit we’re not as good as the likes of Spain, Brazil and Germany at this moment in time.”

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