Fabio Capello did not exactly talk a good game yesterday, preferring to offer most of his words of wisdom via an interpreter, and it could be some time before the Italian is able to converse fully in English. The prediction of the new England manager that he will be speaking the lingo in “one month” appears wide of the mark.

The banter of the training ground should not be a problem, experts believe. However, it could take up to nine months before Capello is confident enough to speak English in front of the media battery of television, radio and the written press. The risk of misinterpretation, an issue raised even yesterday, would be too great.

“One month? No way,” Vanessa Shipley, the academic director of Bloomsbury International, the English language school based in Holborn, Central London, said. “After one month he would reach a very basic level. Maybe after six months, if he became immersed in it, he could speak decent English.

“But it would take perhaps six to nine months for him to be understood, without prompting, at a press conference. He’ll need a three to four-hour lesson every day – any more would be overkill, too much to take in – and the rest of the day could be spent using the language.”

From a salary of £4.8 million a year, Capello should be able to afford private lessons, which can range from £25 to £50 an hour. Group courses of 15 hours a week would cost between £110 and £250 a week.

“Sure, stuff like ‘run up the wing’, ‘square the ball’, ‘cross it’, he could master quickly.” Tom Basar, the director of studies at the Edgware Academy in Central London, said. “But he’s not going to be training every day, so it could take longer. I think one month is very ambitious.”

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