The Russian Football Union (RFU) will name a new national manager before July 20 to replace the Dutchman Dick Advocaat, Russia's Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Wednesday.

"The RFU will decide everything pretty soon," Mutko said.

"Today (Wednesday) they will announce the date of their extraordinary meeting to elect the new RFU chief. They do not have much time as we need to name the new country's head coach before July 20, when the Russian league kicks off for the new season.

"The new manager will also need time to prepare the squad for a friendly with Ivory Coast on August 15 and the 2014 World Cup qualifiers with Northern Ireland and Israel."

The minister added that the list of candidates for the post of Russia's national coach was already determined as well as the backbone of the national squad.

Advocaat announced he was stepping down even before the kick-off of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine and then guided the team to a disastrous first round exit. He is now working at PSV Eindhoven.

The fiasco at Euro 2012 also forced the RFU chief Sergei Fursenko to resign right after his return home from the European football extravaganza.

The whispering gallery rumoured that RFU has already made an offer to Italy's coach Fabio Capello to take over the Russian squad and the former England national manager has given his prior consent.

Valery Gazzayev, who led CSKA Moscow to UEFA Cup victory in 2005, tops the shortlist, which also includes Russia's u-21 team coach Nikolai Pisarev and Alexander Borodyuk, who was an assistant coach to Advocaat and his predecessor Guus Hiddink.