At 63, Graham Taylor is only two years older than Fabio Capello, yet the new England manager appears to be far younger. Taylor, hobbling with a knee cartilage problem, seems a throwback to those gritty, unfashionable days when England could not qualify for a leading tournament, while Capello belongs to these bright, glamorous, modern days . . . when England still cannot qualify for a leading tournament.

As Capello prepares for his first match in charge, Taylor has told the Italian that people will look at results rather than the style of play. “My advice to him is very simple: win,” Taylor said. “It’s how the game has become. That is all that matters and it doesn’t matter how you do it. I look at my time with England – 38 matches, 18 wins, 13 draws – and that’s not a bad record, but there were two vital games we didn’t win and I got hammered for it.

“It doesn’t matter how many medals you have won at club level, there is a big difference to managing a country and he has to start off winning. That said, because he is a foreign manager, he will be given a bit of leeway that an English manager wouldn’t get. He has decided from the start that there are certain rules in his relationship with the media. Imagine if an Englishman had done that, the press would just ignore it.”

The Capello era begins tomorrow with a friendly international against Switzerland, which Taylor thinks England will win, but he sympathises with Capello’s dilemma about whether he should have given David Beckham his 100th England cap.

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BACKGROUND

• Capello cracks whip and spells out expectations

• Makeover could transform roles

• New diet of formalities and discipline

• Jenas keeps it simple to worry Lampard

BACKGROUND

• Beckham admits call-up would have been 'unfair'

• Taylor's advice to Capello: just win, mate

• New kit cuts dash as players make sharp exit

• Pearce gives charges senior incentive

Taylor was lampooned as a turnip in The Sun for taking off Gary Lineker in his final England match in 1992 with half an hour to go and the striker needing one more goal to equal Bobby Charlton’s England record.

Almost 16 years later, the criticism still hurts. “I took Gary off purely for football reasons, not for any other reason, whatever people say,” Taylor, speaking at an event to promote Chance to shine, the charity that is restoring cricket to state schools, said.

“I got hammered for it because they lost, but if I’d played politically and kept him on, Gary would have got his share of criticism for being on the pitch the whole time and losing.

“So, as for Beckham, [Capello] had to pick him for footballing reasons. If Beckham was given his 100th cap, you have to assume he would be in the next squad for his 101st cap, otherwise what was the point? Most people wanted him to get his 100th cap, but Capello has a reputation as someone who doesn’t go in for softness.

“What I will say for Beckham is that he has played for two of the biggest clubs on the planet and earned 99 caps for England. Well done to you. Don’t push your celebrity status in my face, but, for what you’ve achieved in football, f***ing well done.”

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