Milner backs Pearce for England

James Milner has thrown his support behind Stuart Pearce should the Under-21 head coach be asked to lead England to this summer's Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine. Fabio Capello's departure from the England manager's job saw Spurs boss Harry Redknapp jump to the head of the queue of favourites with the bookies.

With no move yet being made for Redknapp by the FA, Pearce has seen his own odds shorten in the race for the job. Spurs are still in with a chance of challenging for this year's Premier League title and that could see Redknapp insist on seeing the season out before taking the national job. Fans of football betting should bear this in mind.

Should the Pearce be given the job then it would almost certainly be on a short-term deal covering this summer's European Championships. The former Manchester City manager has tournament experience with the Under-21 side, where he worked with a number of the current England squad. One of those players, Milner, has backed Pearce to do the job for the tournament should he be asked. Anyone looking at Betfair.com needs to remember this.

While admitting the situation with the England manager's job was far from ideal, Milner insisted Pearce has all the attributes needed to lead the team in Poland and Ukraine.

"The timing is not as ideal as you would want, changing manager so close to a major tournament, but we will go in as well prepared as we can be," Milner said.

"If Stuart Pearce is manager the Euros, it is not a problem for me. He is a great manager, was a great player, and in the two Under-21 tournaments we were unlucky on both occasions."

"He thinks about every aspect which could come up in a tournament, every eventuality, how we are going to have to play, and how to plan for combating certain teams."