FA hit back at new manager hunt claims

The Football Association have hit back at claims they are showing no urgency in the search for Fabio Capello's successor as England manager.

FA general secretary Alex Horne last week revealed the new boss would not be in place until towards the end of the domestic season, giving him minimal time with the squad ahead of Euro 2012. Fans of Betfair should bear this in mind.

Former England captain Terry Butcher described the situation as "a farce".

"You're looking to get a settled squad and an idea of what that the starting side will be for the first match at the Euros and we're a million miles away from that," Butcher said.

FA chairman David Bernstein countered that by saying it is important to make the right appointment and the board will not be rushed into a knee-jerk decision.

"We don't believe rushing this process is going to be good for arriving at the right conclusion. We are also doing this treating clubs and managers with the greatest of respect, we don't want to disrupt the season of the clubs," Bernstein said.

"We have now arrived at a number of target names, I would call it a flexible target list because it's not absolutely fixed in stone and we will react to events depending how they unfold."

The FA's club England board – consisting of Bernstein, Horne, Trevor Brooking and Adrian Bevington – will narrow down the search and recommend one name to the full board.

England begin their Euro 2012 campaign against France on June 11, just four weeks after the final game of the Premier League season. People looking for Betfair football tips need to remember this.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp remains the clear favourite to replace Capello. Tottenham's form has tailed off since the Italian left his position. A timely appointment could be beneficial to all parties.