The last full-time England manager to have won the domestic league title was Don Revie. Steve McClaren, Kevin Keegan, Glenn Hoddle, Terry Venables, Graham Taylor, Sir Bobby Robson, Ron Greenwood, none of them did it. Sven Goran Eriksson had not even managed a single day in English football.

Keegan, Hoddle and Taylor were without a significant domestic trophy, while Greenwood, Robson, Taylor, Hoddle, Keegan and McClaren had never managed in the Champions League or its antecedent, the European Cup.

The golden age of home-grown England managerial candidates is a myth. There never was a time when the Football
Association could choose between a line of candidates with trophies and European experience to burn. In 1990 Joe Royle got an interview before he had taken Oldham Athletic into Division One. The equivalent would be inspecting the credentials of Nigel Adkins of Southampton now.

First choice: Harry Redknapp has worked wonders as Tottenham manager - and he's English

Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's  director of football development, has frightened the horses by refusing to rule out a contract extension for Fabio Capello. It is said to be a tacit admission that the cupboard is bare.

And, no, there will not be an extensive list of worthy candidates for Capello's position at the end of the 2012 European Championship, but no matter.

The FA do not need 20 men to manage England. They need one. And they've got one. His name is Harry Redknapp.

The idea that we will suddenly unearth 10, or even five, English contenders qualified for the job is  preposterous. There are, at most, six elite posts in the Premier League right now, and the majority are occupied by foreign coaches or proud Scotsmen.

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