Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has urged the FA to appoint Jose Mourinho as England manager. Ferguson, who enjoyed a friendly rivalry with Mourinho while the latter was at Chelsea, believes the self-proclaimed Special One is the outstanding candidate to succeed Steve McClaren.

Mourinho has not ruled out the possibility of taking the job, urging the FA to get in touch, and Ferguson said: “Jose Mourinho should be the next England manager. It is the job of club managers to get the most from their players technically.

“It is the job of the England manager to motivate the players, and there is no one better at that than Mourinho. If the FA consult me about it I’ll give them a shortlist of one, and tell them to get Mourinho.”

Determined to get the right man, the FA will reportedly consult each Premier League manager to get their views on the way forward and the best man to lead the national side.

Several names have already been thrown into the hat, including Harry Redknapp, Guus Hiddink, Fabio Capello and Arsene Wenger, but Mourinho seems to be the popular choice.

Former England head coach Sir Bobby Robson is another backing the Portuguese, saying: “I think Mourinho is a great candidate for England.

“I’d prefer an English manager. But everything depends on the solutions available and, if there are no interesting names from within, Mourinho would be a very good choice.”

Hiddink has also become one of the firm favourites after talks to extend is contract with Russia broke down.

Hiddink, who helped Russia qualify for Euro 2008 at the expense of England, costing McClaren his job, was expected to agree to a new deal with the Russian FA, but negotiations have stalled over a proposed three-year contract.

The FA have previously sounded out Hiddink as a potential England manager, following the dismissal of Sven-Goran Eriksson, but back then the Dutchman refused to be interviewed.