Fabio Capello will soon have a newly-appointed English coach working alongside him but the appointment will not necessarily be moulded as the next manager of the senior team. The idea has been in the pipeline since this summer's World Cup debacle, which saw Capello's reputation torn to shreds following a ruthless defeat at the hands of a young and vibrant Germany.

It now appears that the theory of an English assistant working in tandem with the Italian will become reality after the Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley on 12th October. However, Football Association director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking does not think it is a certainty the new man, who will be expected to work across all national-team age-groups, including Stuart Pearce's Under 21s, will succeed Capello.