FA won’t name new England boss until season all but over

FA general secretary Alex Horne said a list of potential candidates to succeed Fabio Capello has been drawn up but that they did not want to disrupt clubs’ seasons. The FA’s plan of action means they should avoid any accusations of destabilising a club by approaching a manager.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, who has stated his priority is ensuring Spurs finish the season in third place in the Barclays Premier League to qualify for the Champions League, remains the overwhelming favourite to succeed Capello but the FA have not made any approaches to any candidate.

Horne, speaking on his arrival at the International FA Board meeting in Bagshot, said: “It’s a back-end-of-the-season decision for us. We recognise that a lot of the managers on the list are employed and we don’t want to interrupt anyone’s season.”

Horne is one of a four-man group who are deciding on the appointment, along with FA chairman David Bernstein, director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking and Club England managing director Adrian Bevington.

Interim manager Stuart Pearce has ruled out taking the job on a permanent basis and the FA, who would prefer to appoint an Englishman if they can, look to have few other immediate options apart from Redknapp and West Brom manager Roy Hodgson.