Capello facing a midfield crisis

England manager Fabio Capello has admitted he has "big problems in midfield" ahead of Friday's crucial Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro. England need a point in the intimidating atmosphere of the Podgorica City stadium to guarantee progress as group winners, but have been hit by a series of injuries that leave them weak in the centre of midfield. Fabio Capello is without Jack Wilshere, Tom Cleverley and Tom Huddlestone through long-term injury, and has concerns over Michael Carrick's Achilles and James Milner's match fitness. Capello was at Goodison to watch Steven Gerrard come off the bench against Everton on Saturday but the Liverpool captain does not believe he is ready for international duty. Capello has not ruled him out but he had been hoping he would get at least an hour of football under his belt if he were to take him. ‘Another step forward' "It's another step forward for Steven coming on in the derby, getting a few more minutes under his belt," Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said. "But I think Steven aired his views and I don't think I need to add to that." That leaves Capello with Scott Parker, Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard as his only fully fit central midfielders. He will also have to wait to see whether Theo Walcott is back fit for Arsenal. Shaun Wright-Phillips has been named in the provisional squad as cover. The good news for Capello was that Wayne Rooney and Darren Bent, both of whom he was concerned about, started for Manchester United and Aston Villa on Saturday. Danny Welbeck could also be promoted from the Under-21s to provide attacking depth. The players travel to Podgorica on Thursday and Capello has made it a high priority for his team meeting to ensure the players are aware of the hostility of the atmosphere that is sure to await them on Friday night. "It will be noisy and intense," he said. "I will speak about the atmosphere we will find. We need to prepare for everything that can happen before the game, during the game, in the dressing room, everything. "They must not react to provocation. We need to be careful about provocation. We need experience but more than experience, we need leaders." Capello had expressed frustration with the lack of focus in the warm-up to the Wales game and he will be looking for his players to prepare for this game with the intensity he has come to expect. "You can't just switch on and switch off," he said. "During the warm-up sometimes I am watching my players but I am also watching the opposition to see whether they are focused or not focused. "It is really important. I found that 80 per cent of the time what I think before the game happens during the game. You can predict how good a team will be by how professional they are in the warm-up."