Fabio Capello is happy to be staying on as England's coach but feels there's too many domestic tournaments too close to World Cup run up. (Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)

England coach Fabio Capello has broken cover after a month of intense post-World Cup criticism to concede that he always knew his players were too exhausted to succeed, while telling them they must be mentally tougher in the future.

Capello kept his job despite England's humiliating 4-1 second-round loss to Germany, although the Italian said he would have understood if the Football Association had terminated his contract.

Now the former Real Madrid and Juventus coach needs to regain the trust of the squad.

"I have confidence in these players — I hope they will have confidence in me," he said ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Hungary.

At his first media briefing since South Africa, Capello flitted between pessimism and optimism when discussing his ability to transform the team before the 2012 European Championship, but started by issuing an apology to fans.

"I know they spent a lot of time and money following England and I'm really sorry," Capello said in an executive box overlooking the Wembley Stadium pitch.

Thousands of fans flew across the world with high expectations after England's impressive qualifying campaign, but the team managed just two dismal draws and one win before crashing out of the tournament.

Capello has retained just 10 players from that 23-man squad and brought in three uncapped players for Wednesday's friendly — a match the coach feared he wouldn't see.

"If the FA decided to sack me, I would have understood it," said Capello, who has two years remaining on his contract. "I thought a lot about the situation but I'm a fighter and I've never quit in my career. I always look forward."

But first he must look back: why did a team that won nine out of ten qualifiers perform so badly on the main stage?

Capello is still blaming the gruelling domestic season for leaving the players exhausted by May.

"We played a game in March against Egypt and the players were in a good situation [physically], but when we played the friendly games before the World Cup the players were not the same physically that they were in March," Capello said.

"We knew the situation before the World Cup," he added. "I spoke with my staff but I could not come out and say this because psychologically it is not good for the players because they can read everything."

Capello's fears were magnified by the unimpressive performance in the final warmup match against South African team, the Platinum Stars.

"The level of the games was always the same and I was worried," Capello said. "We tried to do everything. I was worried. I spoke with the doctors and the fitness coach Massimo Neri, but the situation was a mentality problem [also]."

And that didn't just afflict England's players, according to Capello, who reflected on Brazil squandering a halftime lead in the quarter-finals before losing 2-1 to the Netherlands.

"Brazil were the best team in the world and I cannot understand why they changed completely when Holland equalized," Capello said. "After this they played without confidence. For this, the mind is the most important thing at the World Cup."

Ending the fixture congestion in England would be an easier solution if Capello could convince the FA and Premier League to tweak the domestic program to reduce the players' workload.

"It's impossible to find a break in winter," he said. "Germany are always in good condition at World Cups because the Bundesliga is suspended for a month. In Italy, Spain and other countries they have two weeks, but in England it is impossible because we have four competitions (the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Europe for some teams).

"Other countries have three, but in England all the competitions are really hard and the same teams arrive at the final. They are the teams with the best players and they are the players I need."

The solution might just be to abandon friendlies before Euro 2012.

"I always remember when Denmark won the European Championships in 1992," Capello said. "They were on the beach and arrived four days before the first game because Yugoslavia were out of the tournament [due to the war]."

Capello suggests he has other plans to ensure England doesn't falter again at a major tournament. What they are remains unclear.

"I think we can change something before we go to the Ukraine and Poland," he said. "First let's get there. After, you will see what we can do. If we are physically fit it won't be so hard."