Classic Times Fantasy Football is back. Sign up for £3 a team or 3 for £6

Lord Triesman, the FA chairman, has moved to reassure Fabio Capello that his position as England manager will not be affected by the impending departure of Brian Barwick. The Italian was concerned enough to inquire whether Barwick's unilateral decision to appoint him on a salary of £6 million a year was one of the reasons for the chief executive's sudden removal and was relieved to be told that the decision was not football related and that he retains the complete backing of everyone at the FA.

Barwick's departure came as a surprise to most people in Soho Square, including Capello, who was out of the country yesterday but kept informed of developments by members of his staff. Triesman spent much of the day explaining the reasons for Barwick's exit in a series of meetings with FA staff, including Capello's backroom team, emphasising that the schism resulted from a difference of opinion over the business future of the organisation.

Capello was informed of Barwick's departure only after England's 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic at Wembley on Wednesday night, but had begun to hear rumours that all was not well half-an-hour before kick-off. Triesman spent much of the period immediately after the final whistle attempting to reassure him that the FA still has every confidence in his abilities, a message he repeated yesterday.

Now there are TWO ways to feed your fantasy

We have built on last year's success of PlayTheGame by offering fantasy football managers double the fun this coming season

Related Links

• Capello still groping for England answers

• Beckham creates more problems than solutions

With Capello on side, Triesman will turn his attention to completing his restructuring of the FA, which has been relentless since he began work as the organisation's first independent chairman in February. Simon Johnson, the director of corporate affairs and a key Barwick ally, could be the next official under threat because much of his work has been completed given that the FA's new £425 million, four-year television deal with Setanta and ITV is now in operation.

Triesman's plans for appointing a new chief executive remain unclear, but it is understood that the Labour peer is planning to return to a three-day working week, which was in his original job description rather than continuing to act as full-time executive chairman on a permanent basis. Much of Barwick's portfolio has already been passed to Alex Horne, the FA's chief operating officer who was previously the managing director of Wembley Stadium. Horne has been with the FA for five years after training as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand and is a candidate to step up to chief executive in the event of an internal appointment, particularly if Triesman chooses to appoint a more high-profile figure to lead England's 2018 World Cup bid, as seems likely.

Barwick yesterday expressed the hope that delivering Wembley Stadium and improving on-field discipline through the new Respect campaign would be seen as his legacy, as well as emphasising his faith in Capello. “I'm very conscious of the fact that, for a lot of people, the FA is England and England is the FA,” Barwick said. “I'm very confident that in Fabio Capello we've got a world-class coach.

“It's been an absolute privilege to have been involved with an organisation of this nature. If I have one legacy, then maybe it's the fact that we were all sitting in a great stadium last night. The Respect programme is also very special to me. If I can have improved discipline in one small way, then that's good enough for me.”