England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce has likened senior coach Fabio Capello to managerial great Brian Clough.

Clough enjoyed an illustrious career in charge of first Derby and then Nottingham Forest, where Pearce played under him.

And the former Manchester City boss believes Capello, who was handed the task of getting England back on track following the disappointment of Steve McClaren's reign, has a similar no-nonsense attitude to Clough.

"You've only got to spend 10 minutes in the fella's company to realise he's a serious performer, Pearce told talkSPORT. "I find him very similar to Brian Clough.

"I worked with Brian and to be fair, he scared the life out of me and you were on your toes all the time. I get the same impression working with this fella now.

"He doesn't want to talk for hours about this and that and rubbish, he just wants to get on with the job."

Pearce also believes England's elite will benefit from working under the former AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid chief.

"You could feel that in the dressing room in the first game. You could feel the atmosphere within the dressing room - he had players on their toes.

"To be honest with you, I think that can only be good for the English game. I think we need to get a little bit serious about what we're doing having not qualified [for Euro 2008]."

Pearce, who earned 78 international caps as a player, revealed that the Italian had displayed a serious interest in England's youth set-up.

He said: "The first conversation I had with him he said he wanted a full report on all the players I have in my squad and my recommendations on where they possibly might end up. That, for me, was a massive bonus.

"Everyone in my squad should aspire to a place in the senior team. It helps when they know that they have someone on the inside batting their corner if they are doing well."

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