I brought down England, but it takes me a year to make as much as Capello earns in two days

Capello, after all, is paid about £20,000 a day. Bilic earns £45,000 a year.

Not that Bilic minds. He regards Capello as the world's finest coach. "He is the best,' said the former West Ham and Everton defender.

"Better than Mourinho, Ferguson, Lippi. If you get into a conversation with someone about football and they start acting like the man, you say 'Who are you, Capello?'"

The disparity in salaries nevertheless remains startling and a damning indictment of Steve McClaren when the Football Association considered him worthy of £2.5million a year. And gave him another £2.5m as a pay-off for losing two games to Bilic.

But here's the thing. Capello might be on the big bucks but Bilic considers himself the man under pressure.

"I'm under more pressure than Capello, definitely," he said. "There is no bigger job than England manager. If you are a priest it is like becoming the Pope.

"But he has a contract. He doesn't know English people. His family is not in England. So whether he gets slaughtered on the front pages or the back pages it doesn't matter. He has that contract and he's going to do the job.

"This is different for me here in Croatia. With me, I read that I'm not good as a person, that my tie isn't tied properly, that I can't play the guitar well. It's about me as a person.

"That's why I think I'm under more pressure. Capello has to deal with business pressure. My pressure is personal and business and everything."

As he entertains in one of his favourite restaurants in Zagreb, the intelligent, articulate Croat, who recently rejected an approach from Fulham, reflects on his agreement with his national federation.

Raising the issue proves a little embarrassing. A case, quite simply, of asking him if reports of '£47,000 a year' really are true in this modern era of the football millionaire. "Less, less, less," he said. "That is about 75,000 euros and I'm on less than that.

"But nobody forced me to sign the contract, nobody put a gun to my head. I signed the contract. I didn't get enough money and I'm the first to say that it's a disgrace for Croatia. Not for Slaven Bilic but the Croatia football manager should be paid more money.

"There's no point in comparing it with Capello or McClaren. Money was never my big motivation. Money is important but if I leave it will not be for money. It will be a career move.

"I could have left by now if I just wanted money. It is about what is best for my career. I want to enjoy this and I am enjoying this big-time."

He is proud to be the manager of his national team. Just as he was proud to be the Under 21 manager on half the money he is on now. "So proud," he said as he took a drag of his cigarette.

"That's one side. But the greatest respect I have gained from this jobi s that I know now I can cope with the pressure of any job in the world.

"If I became the manager of Real Madrid, Manchester United or wherever, I know I will never be under more pressure than I have been with Croatia. This is everything in my job, this is personal. It affects my mother, my children, because I'm managing my country.

So what about England? What about those encounters at Wembley and here in Zagreb? What about the wally with the brolly who stood haplessly alongside him?

"You guys always have to find excuses," he said. "You are always trying to find the reason why you lost. It's easier to find a reason rather than simply admitting that you weren't very good.

"The easiest thing was to blame Steve McClaren and the whole story became 'It's all down to Steve McClaren'. Everyone, including the players, did that.

"I'm the biggest fan of England, in every way. I love the country, I love England, the football, the music, everything. My son is crazy about Chelsea and England.

"We went to games in the World Cup and he was so disappointed because England didn't play well against Trinidad and Tobago or Sweden.

"We beat you because we are better. In the games, the qualification, we were a better team than England. That's the end of the story.

"But it did get on our nerves. When you came to Zagreb, there was a bus that took you off the tarmac and straight to your hotel. No passport control, nothing.

"When we landed at Gatwick, immigration. It was a snake, like I don't know, 50 metres. And then they arrested our vice-president! F***ing hell! Why? He was in the paper shop and bought every paper.

"He wanted them all with £20 and he had them all under his arm when he saw some of our players walk past. He went out to tell the players to wait and he was arrested! He's 60!

"It's not arrogance. I understand you completely because I lived in England for a long time and I loved it. I loved London. When I tell this to the guys who never lived in England I tell them you ruled the world for centuries. You have a mighty nation and it's quite normal.

"But the reason we beat you is because we are better, we are better. And we are still better." Not to mention cheaper.