Former Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit says there can be no excuses for England's players if they fail to win the World Cup next year.

"There are no excuses - none," Gullit emphatically told the Mail on Sunday.

"For four or five years there have been three or four English teams in the quarter-finals of the Champions League so you can't hide behind anything now. You have the experienced players and now they have to do it. The World Cup in South Africa is the highest platform. Do it"

There is an added ingredient which, it seems, gives Gullit greater confidence in this England team than ever before; they have a manager, in Fabio Capello, who Gullit regards as one of the greats.

"Every ingredient is there for England," says Gullit. "You have a coach who has the experience, and the qualification has been very easy. That was no surprise to me because Capello knows what he's talking about. He knows the game.

"I thought that he could do that [with England]. I experienced him at Milan so I know the way he works: very strict; all about being disciplined; doing what you have to do to win an individual game."