Charlton Athletic have told manager Alan Curbishley that they will not try to stop him succeeding Sven-Goran Eriksson as England coach.
Curbishley is one of the favourites to replace the Swede, along with Sam Allardyce, Steve McClaren and Guus Hiddink.
And Charlton chief executive Peter Varney said that he will not stand in his manager’s way if Curbishley is appproached by the FA.
“If they (FA) do come calling we’ve always been consistent – at the end of the day it’s Alan’s decision,” Varney said.
“We passionately want Alan to stay here. However, it is the biggest job in football and we wouldn’t stand in his way.
“He’s proved over his 15 years here that he’s an excellent coach. We’re the only team to win and draw at Chelsea this season, which perhaps speaks volumes for his tactical ability.”
Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, believes thee next England coach must be English.
“Brazil wouldn’t appoint a foreign coach, Germany wouldn’t, Italy wouldn’t, Spain wouldn’t and neither would France or Holland, so why should we? I am not being xenophobic,” said Taylor.
“The international game should be a litmus test of each country’s development programme, not just for players but coaches as well. We seem to appoint people from overseas, which diminishes the international concept.”
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