Rio Ferdinand believes new England manager Fabio Capello is hewn from the same medal-winning granite as Sir Alex Ferguson.

And if England's players get behind the Italian, starting with Wednesday's friendly against Switzerland at Wembley, the Manchester United defender is convinced he will bring success.

"There's a sense of awe about him definitely. There cannot not be. You command respects with results," said Ferdinand.

"That's what my boss at Manchester United has got because of his work ethic and the ideals he manages by and that runs throughout the club.

"That is apparent with the new manager. There's a definite respect of what he has achieved and hopefully he can bring that to our nation.

"You want to be part of that new regime and in the training sessions I'm sure you'll see the players working hard. Everyone will be doing their utmost to make sure they become a part of the new regime."

Ferdinand has described the ripple of excitement which went through the sqaud at their initial training session with Capello as like going to a new school.

And he is sure England can only learn from a manager with a bulging trophy cabinet, the most recent addition being the Spanish league title with Real Madrid last year.

Ferdinand said: "He's had success wherever he has been, coached some of the best players in the world and you want to suck up as much knowledge and information as you can.

"He's been there, seen it and done it and when someone's got that sort of a CV you have to take in what they're saying. A lot of it made sense.

"I enjoy being coached by people who have had success and have the know-how."

Ferdinand is waiting to learn whether he will be Capello's first captain. The 61-year-old Italian has decided to choose his skipper on a match-by-match basis until deciding on a permanent one prior to the World Cup qualifiers.

Ferdinand said: "If anyone was asked if they would do the job I don't think you would get too many people saying 'No, it's not really for me'. It is the pinnacle of anyone's career.

"It is the stuff of dreams. But more importantly if we can get 11 captains out there on the pitch, people out there who are assertive and lead from the front, then we will have an opportunity to win things."

So will Capello end the England World Cup hurt which is approaching 42 years and counting?

"I don't know. I'm not Mystic Meg," Ferdinand said. "You wait with anticipation and excitement for the new manager to come in and implement new ideas but who knows the future. We're going to be trying our hardest, 100% every training session, every match to be a successful team."

And he added: "The new manager has his own identity and that is a winning identity. His mentality is driven towards winning.

"We saw when he went to Madrid a team which maybe didn't play the ideal football which the Madrid fans wanted but they were getting results.

"It's a results business and we want results. I don't want to finish my career not having at least been in a final with an opportunity to win something."

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