So Far So Good Fabio

Similarly nice things were said about Sven Goran Eriksson at the start of his reign as England manager, but somehow you can't really see Capello ruining his good work by having an affair with a Swedish television presenter or a sultry secretary at Soho Square can you?

It is about time England's manager and players were judged solely by results and, in that respect, with 12 points out of 12 and a four-point lead at the top of the table, things couldn't have gone any better for Capello and the love affair between the nation and its national sport is being rekindled.

I think a lot of people lost interest in the national team long before a hopelessly out of his depth Steve McClaren was thrown to the wolves following the calamitous failure to qualify for the European Championships last year.

For me, the end of the love affair came in Germany two years earlier when England's so-called Golden Generation crashed out at the quarter-final stage for the third time running at a major tournament. England were tipped (inevitably) to win it, but failed miserably again.

They played poorly in every single game before that penalty shoot-out defeat to Portugal and the celebrity culture which had always been in danger of distracting the players finally took over in Baden Baden.

People were simply bored of being letdown by the best this country has to offer, while the media frenzy surrounding the players' wives and girlfriends (Wags) merely confirmed that football in this country had plenty of style, but very little substance. Where there was once interest in team selection and analysis of tactics there was now comment on haircuts, pay packets, weddings and the boob size of so and so's latest squeeze.

Rio Ferdinand described the situation as a circus before England's 3-1 win in Belarus this week. He was probably referring to the media circus which followed the squad in Germany, but he was right in another sense, the players did start to look like a bunch of clowns on the pitch, only their slapstick routines weren't very funny.

After just four games, Capello has restored an air of professionalism to the England squad and has been rewarded with his adopted country's best ever start to a qualifying campaign. It is early days and with the notable exception of Croatia, England haven't played any of the other major international powers since he took over.

That will change with a friendly game in Germany in November, but you can only ever beat the opposition which is put in front of you and there is at least some genuine cause for optimism on the back of recent results. A promising start is all it may be, but after the disappointments and farces of the last two years, that is enough for now.

Public interest has been pricked and expectations are rising. Put a few wins together and England teams always tend to be billed as world beaters, only this time, with Capello in charge, we can believe the traditional arrogance and complacency which has so often undermined our national sport will be avoided.

At least until Fabio is pictured stumbling out of a Mayfair nightclub with a minor member of the Royal Family on his arm.....