Standing by his man: Capello appointed John Terry as England captain twice during his ill-fated reign

But in the longer term it seems inevitable that England will turn to Redknapp, who is already known to have widespread  support among the players.

On Wednesday night the Spurs manager was at home with his wife Sandra, exhausted after a  harrowing 13-day court ordeal.

One sticking point could be his salary, given that the FA are keen to see that their next manager earns considerably less than Capello’s £6million a year.

But the clamour for Redknapp will be huge and the FA will try to play on the fact that no English manager would turn down an offer to take charge of the national side.

Martin O’Neill, who was interviewed for the job in 2006, ruled himself out and backed his Spurs counterpart. The Sunderland boss said: ‘If there is anyone to succeed Fabio Capello, Harry Redknapp has earned that right and he will be the next England manager.

‘It is terribly disappointing. Fabio Capello has earned the right — having taken the team to the Euros — to go the whole distance and it is really disappointing. He is not only a fantastic manager but earned that opportunity and if it is because of the John Terry incident that is very, very sad indeed.’

Capello arrived at Wembley at around 11am on Wednesday and was in the offices for six hours. He was entirely without allies, having alienated Bernstein, previously a supporter, with his comments on Italian TV.

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