Capello commits to two more years with England

The World Cup is often seen as a graveyard of managerial reputations, but Fabio Capello has strengthened his position before the tournament by agreeing a new contract with the FA that effectively guarantees him the England job until 2012 - even if the side underperform in South Africa.

It is a mark of how highly Capello is regarded that England were prepared to formalise a verbal agreement that the Italian came to with former chairman Lord Triesman. The Italian's original contract had an escape clause that would have allowed either party to terminate the deal in the wake of the World Cup - but that has now been axed.

In some respects the FA's hand was forced by Inter Milan who made no secret of their desire to make Capello the successor to Jose Mourinho.

The Italian was anxious to know whether England were serious about keeping him on in his current position before he considered the approach from Inter and after emergency talks between Capello's son, Pierfilippo, and Sir Dave Richards of the FA a deal was reached.

Capello signed the new contract at the England team's base in Hertfordshire, hours before they boarded the plane to South Africa, and the FA issued a statement that announced: "Fabio Capello is committed to managing the England team until the 2012 European Championships. An amendment to his employment contract was signed and exchanged today, with break clause options for both The FA and Fabio being removed."

The agreement removes any doubts about the manager's commitment to the cause and means that no matter what happens in South Africa, Capello will be in charge when England begin the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, which begins in September against Bulgaria. ·