FA launches three-point action plan to find Hodgson successor

Harry Redknapp: Fancies Boro job

Harry Redknapp: Fancies Boro job

The Football Association has launched a three-point action plan in a bid to find the next England manager and avoid another shambolic major tournament display.

The wounds remain raw after hope turned to embarrassment at Euro 2016 as Roy Hodgson’s men bowed out at the last-16 juncture to Iceland, the smallest country to ever grace a major competition.

It led the well-travelled 68-year-old to call time on his four-year tenure, with Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce and United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann currently the bookmakers’ favourites to replace him.

Arsene Wenger joins Guus Hiddink, Harry Redknapp and Glenn Hoddle as other names being linked to the vacant post, which was discussed in Paris last Friday by the three-man panel charged with finding Hodgson’s successor.

FA technical director Dan Ashworth, chief executive Martin Glenn and vice-chairman David Gill convened four days after the Iceland defeat in the French capital, where Press Association Sport understands they settled on three key action points.

The governing body, firstly, is undergoing a full assessment of Euro 2016 through internal and external consultation, and, secondly, is undertaking a general review into England’s displays across previous senior tournaments.

Gary Lineker, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand are the among the former internationals the FA has spoken to along with figures such as Redknapp, although the manager Hodgson beat to the job in 2012 is believed to have been contacted as a respected figure rather than a candidate for the full-time job.

The third and most immediately pressing point is to identify the best man to succeed Hodgson.

The FA want a strong-minded, tactically-savvy manager capable of building a clear team identity over the long term, with the intention that a clearer group character will breed success.

In addition, the governing body is keen that the link-up between development teams and the senior squad is brought closer.

Improvements have been made in that regard over the last four years, but the FA is keen to have a closer, more cohesive link at St George’s Park with the new manager.

The criteria outlined in a pre-tournament succession plan is helping guide Ashworth, Glenn and Gill, although it has been updated to reflect the altering landscape in terms of managerial availability, Euro 2016 trends and the like.

There is no timescale on when the FA wants a new manager in place and an interim solution remains a possibility when England start their World Cup qualifying campaign in Slovakia on September 4.