No England appointment until end of season say FA

Harry Redknapp is the favourite to succeed Fabio Capello (GETTY IMAGES)

The Football Association will wait until close to the end of the season before appointing a new England manager.

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.

Horne, speaking on his arrival at the International FA Board meeting in Bagshot, said: "We've got a list. Long, short.... there's definitely a list. 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.

"We're not rushing this and we are expecting something at the back end of the season."

He added that there was no problem waiting until just before Euro 2012 before making the appointment.

"That's perfectly realistic," said Horne. "We've got all of our operational plans in place. We can deliver a squad into Poland so it is perfectly possible."

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp remains the overwhelming favourite to succeed Capello but the FA have not made any approaches to any candidate.

England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce, who was in charge of England for the midweek 3-2 defeat by Holland, has said he is prepared to take charge of the side for the European Championships if necessary.

PA