Capello hints at Owen omission

Newcastle turmoil could be affecting confidence says boss

Last updated: 5th October 2008

Capello hints at Owen omission

Owen: Could miss out again

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England manager Fabio Capello has given a strong hint that he will not select Michael Owen in his 23-man squad on Sunday.

The striker was left out for the trips to Croatia and Andorra and it appears he will also miss out for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus.

For Capello feels - while the striker is scoring goals - the turbulent times at Newcastle could be affecting confidence.

He said: "I saw him on TV. He's fit enough, but it is not a good moment for Newcastle.

"Sometimes a lot of the results of the club for which a player plays are not good for the confidence.

Moment

"I have to decide on 23 players. I do not decide out of sympathy or because I like or dislike players. I decide on who I think is the best player at the moment.

"You can play better if all the team play well. There are three players at Tottenham who are interesting for us but it is not a good moment for them."

He added: "It is not enough only to score goals. It is very important but sometimes one player has not played for 89 minutes and he scores a goal, it is not enough.

"The goals are very important but it is not only the goals."

Theo Walcott was the hat-trick star against Croatia which has raised expectations but Capello believes the teenager must be treated the same as other players.

Normal players

The Italian said: "After the game with Croatia I said the people will speak about the performance of Walcott. And all the people are waiting to see the same performance. It is not possible. We have to treat Walcott like the other players, normal players.

"Sometimes he will have a fantastic performance, sometimes a normal performance, sometimes not a good performance and sometimes I will substitute him, like other players."

Capello also warned against complacency when they line-up to play Kazakhstan at Wembley on 11th October.

He said: "We have to play like we did against Croatia, the same spirit, the same confidence. I want to see the same at Wembley. It is not important that Kazakhstan are not strong like Croatia.

"You have to play with concentration. Sometimes after one important game you lose the concentration. You feel you are strong, it is an easy game. This is the worst moment for the manager when players think it is an easy game. It is not."