Ferdinand found out he was England captain on TV

The Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand has told how Fabio Capello never informed him personally that he was making him captain of England to replace John Terry. Ferdinand only learned of his appointment from watching TV.

And while he has received confirmation of his appointment from the FA, the England manager has still not been in touch. "The team hasn't been briefed on anything," Ferdinand told the Guardian. "We haven't spoken to the manager; he hasn't spoken to the players; he does it a certain way."

Ferdinand isn't complaining - it's just the way the Italian operates. Asked what he though of Capello as England manager, he responded: "Brilliant. He's similar to the gaffer we've got at United. The best thing about him is he's black and white. You know exactly what he wants from you before you go out on the pitch, and that's what we've lacked in the last few campaigns.

"He says, 'This is what I want, this is what I expect, this is what I demand' ­ and if you can't do it, regardless of who you are, you won't play."

Ferdinand, 31, will not be captaining England against Egypt tonight because he is still suffering from a back injury. Steven Gerrard will do the honours in his place.

The fact that he found out at all about becoming England captain now appears to be something of a fluke - because Ferdinand clearly doesn't watch the TV news that often. He was genuinely shocked to be informed by the Guardian reporter that Wayne Bridge would not be playing for England in the World Cup.

"Why's that?" Ferdinand asked. "Because of the situation," the reporter replied tactfully.

Clearly unaware of the news that had broken about six hours before the interview, Ferdinand eventually said: "I don't want to comment on anything like that... I want to speak to him [Bridge] myself before I'll believe it. He hasn't said anything to me."

Ferdinand should make a good captain under Capello if for no other reason than he seems to share the boss's contempt for the whole WAG scene, which Capello likened to a virus earlier this week.

Ferdinand, whose wife Rebecca was an accountant when they met - not a would-be model or a pop singer - was critical of the WAGs' attention-getting behaviour in Germany in 2006.

"The whole circus that followed the England squad last time at the World Cup was a joke," he told the Guardian, "and I wouldn't like to see that again. It's a distraction and is detrimental to our chances.

"I'd rather go to the World Cup, say to yourself 'Block off four weeks or whatever it is to win the World Cup', and not see your family. I love my kids and my missus as much as anybody else, but if it meant me winning the World Cup and not seeing them for four weeks, I'd take that." ·