Is Fabio Capello the man to end the years of hurt?

He’s done a good job — he knows we have to be organised and play at a high tempo. I think the players respect him. The friendly game against Spain was a good eye-opener. We’re as good as most countries, better than most, but there’s still eight to ten countries who could beat us.

So how can England match Spain?

I don’t think we can. Maybe through organisation and workrate we can stop them playing. Probably play 4-5-1, a bit deeper, condense the space. Spain, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, you have to give them respect. We’d be better off pressing them and playing on the counter-attack. We’ve got a lot of good passers and a lot of legs but we’ll have to get on with what we’ve got — we’re not blessed with lots of players who can take people on.

Why is that?

It is a shame. John Barnes, myself, Gazza, Matt Le Tissier — we used to produce so many tricky players but the coaching system went into overload. We coach kids two-touch football and we’ve lost the art of dribbling. We’ve gone into pass and move, pass and move. But all the great teams have two or three players who can run with the ball.

Other England stars retire at the top but you didn’t mind dropping down the divisions as you grew older.

I still play now. I started with pub football and that’s how I’m finishing. I play for the Devonshire Arms in Sheffield. We’re fourth or fifth bottom of our league, not the best, but I enjoy it and I still get a buzz out of it.

You had humble beginnings before you made it in football.

I worked in a sausage factory. My brother took me for the interview on his motorbike, but I couldn’t get the crash helmet off. I had to do the interview with the visor up. I got the job, but when I turned up a week later to start, the boss didn’t recognise me. He thought I was delivering something.

Interview by Tom Dart