Redknapp the man for England, says Shearer

Former England striker Alan Shearer believes Harry Redknapp would be the ideal man to take Fabio Capello’s World Cup flops forward, although he admits he has one eye on the job himself.

Shearer, speaking to The Daily Telegraph, is currently out of management having spent a frustrating two months as caretaker at former club Newcastle, during which time the club were relegated from the Premier League.

Currently working as a television pundit, Shearer said he would relish the chance to get back into management, especially if it allowed him to take a step closer towards his dream of one day coaching England.

In the meantime Shearer believes current Tottenham manager Redknapp is the man to lead England forward, especially after a World Cup campaign which he believes showed Capello’s limits in getting the best out of his players.

“Harry would be a great England manager. At that level, it’s about knitting them into a solid group and making them go out and play in a certain system. Harry would do a great job at that,” Shearer said.

“We qualified in spectacular style for the World Cup but it was a disaster. I kept saying on television, ‘there’s something drastically wrong in the dressing room because we’re not seeing the players we see in the Premier League’.

“(England captain) John Terry tried to get a message out, get something out into the open, to clear the air and move forward. His motives were right: he could see big problems, that something was going to come crashing down.

“Capello should know the players and what they want. If he doesn’t it’s up to somebody else to have a word. If the manager didn’t listen, then that’s his prerogative as manager and it backfired spectacularly. I cannot remember so many poor performances.”

Although currently enjoying his work in television, Shearer said he would return to club management eagerly even if it meant at the lower end of the scale.

“If you go into management, particularly as an Englishman, then ultimately you’d have to look at one day can I be the England manager? I aspire to be the best. Surely the best is being England manager,” Shearer added.

“I loved every single minute at Newcastle despite what it brought at the end. It was a great experience, dealing with problems every day, the adrenalin rush again.

“I’d never see myself going back there with the current people there. Newcastle was very frustrating. I had a long-term plan. That’s what it needed and still needs.

“If the right job comes along I’ll do it but there are a million people looking for the right one. I wouldn’t be too arrogant to say I wouldn’t go down to a lower league.”