Capello irked by Mourinho claim

Soccer: England coach Fabio Capello has accused Jose Mourinho of showing a lack of respect over his claim he was the FA's first choice to replace Steve McClaren in 2007.

Real Madrid chief Mourinho claimed in an interview to French newspaper L'Equipe on Monday that he was "hours" away from accepting the job as England manager following the departure of McClaren.

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho claims he would have been England coach instead of Capello only for a last-minute change of heart.

Capello claims he is not particularly concerned one way or the other if the FA did approach Mourinho about the England job.

"I don't speak about the relationship with the other clubs, for respect for other managers," said Capello. "I don't like to speak about my relationship with the clubs, with other people. These are my personal secrets. I'll never tell you about what really happened in my career.

"I think it's serious. Every time a club or a different national team decides to choose a manager, they decide to speak with a lot of managers. It's normal. It's not different. This is a question for the chairman that chose me, not a question for me.

"I don't like to speak about this. I've said enough. Thank you."

The FA were also quick to dismiss Mourinho's claim that he was close to becoming England manager.

"Fabio was our first choice for England manager," said a spokesman for the FA. "We have made that clear from the outset."

Capello insists he would not be concerned if Mourinho was the FA's first choice.

"It does not matter to me," he said.

Capello remains the main man, although there are some aspects of his job many feel he has not devoted enough time to, notably his mastery of the English language.

After three-and-a-half years, Capello's English is still not sufficiently strong for him to grasp the finer details of questions he is posed, even if he insists it is perfect for the points he needs to make on the training ground.

"How many languages do you speak?" he challenged. "When I speak with the players they understand everything and that is what is important in this job. If I need to speak about the economy or other things, I can't, but when you speak about tactics, you don't use a lot of words.

"I don't have to speak about a lot of different things. Maximum 100 words."