FA want English manager

The Football Association of England has confirmed they want Englishman to replace Fabio Capello at the helm of the Three Lions.

The Italian manager stepped down from the post earlier this month, after clashing with national team chiefs over their decision to strip John Terry of the captain’s armband.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is widely tipped to become the next England manager, but he is not available at the moment as he wants to end this season with Tottenham.

Recent reports suggested that the FA could turn to another foreign manager instead, but FA general secretary Alex Horne claims that the national team chiefs would prefer an Englishman.

“They don’t have to be English but clearly that would be very preferable,” Horne told BBC Radio. “We all get that. We think British is credible.

“It’s key we have someone with very strong English communication skills, ideally someone who’s got experience of managing English players.”

England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce was appointed interim manager and he led the team in the friendly against the Netherlands, but it is highly unlikely that he will remain in charge come Euro 2012.

The most likely scenario is that English Football Association chiefs will wait for Harry Redknapp until the end of the season and then hand him the reigns just before the start of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.