Fabio Capello will demonstrate his determination to get tough with Barclays Premier League managers by rejecting their overtures to rest key players from two World Cup qualifiers that England are expected to win with ease.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, has led the way, urging Capello to play Wayne Rooney in only one of England’s forthcoming matches against Kazakhstan and Belarus after he suffered an ankle injury in the 3-0 Champions League win over Aalborg last week, but the Italian has resolved to pick his strongest team in both games.

As president of the League Managers Association, Capello is keen to have a good relationship with those in charge of clubs, but he will not be bullied by them. On the eve of last month’s 2-0 win away to Andorra, he made a rare point of standing up for himself on the record, urging all Premier League managers to refrain from public criticism of the England team in the light of strong comments by Harry Redknapp after the 2-2 draw in a friendly against the Czech Republic in August. The Portsmouth manager had accused Capello of presiding over England’s worst performance in living memory and “killing” Steven Gerrard by playing him out of position.

In the case of Rooney, Capello has noted that Ferguson kept him on the pitch for 77 minutes of United’s 2-0 win away to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday when the game was effectively won after an hour and concluded that if he is fit enough to play for his club, then he can also serve his country.

The 22-year-old can expect to resume his successful partnership with Emile Heskey against Kazakhstan at Wembley on Saturday, one that brought him a first England goal in almost a year in the 4-1 win against Croatia last month.

Despite the feel-good factor emanating from that result, Capello is likely to make several changes. One is inevitable because Joe Cole is not with the squad after suffering a hip injury, but it does not automatically follow that he will be replaced on the left of midfield by Gerrard, although the Liverpool midfield player is expected to return to the starting line-up in some capacity.

By picking Theo Walcott for last month’s qualifiers, Capello has shown that he can be influenced heavily by performances in training, which gives the players every incentive to impress when they begin work in earnest this morning after a brief warm-down last night. Capello is prepared to make one concession to the clubs, however, with the players likely to be pleasantly surprised by a training schedule that is far lighter than in the past. He is conscious that the bulk of his squad have played three highly competitive matches in the past week and wants to reduce the risk of injury and burnout.

Capello is adamant that he has not brought a premature end to Michael Owen’s international career, despite playing him for only 45 minutes in his seven-match reign. Ray Clemence, a member of the backroom team, spoke up for England’s fourth-highest goalscorer (with 40) yesterday, although in reality it would take an injury to a player such as Rooney or Jermain Defoe for the Newcastle United striker to return to the squad.

“Michael has great belief in his own ability and quite rightly,” Clemence said. “His record speaks for itself. He has got to continue to play and continue to score goals and I’m sure an opportunity will come his way again.”

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