Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed how he would never agree to become England manager because it is a “terrible job”.
The Manchester United manager said on Friday that he had twice turned down the chance to take charge of England and insisted the job held no appeal for him.
The FA board met on Thursday for the first time since England’s woeful World Cup campaign as the governing body looks to address shortcomings on the international stage.
Fabio Capello has agreed to work alongside Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA’s director of football development, in the hope of improving the skills and development of English coaches and international players, but Ferguson seemed to imply that the Italian, like his predecessors as England manager, is fighting a losing battle.
“I’ve been asked to manage the England team on a couple of occasions, but of course it’s just out of the question,” he said. “I think it’s a poisoned chalice, it’s a terrible job. Plus the fact that I have a tremendous handicap being Scottish. No matter which way you look at it, that's important.”
United played the first of their five pre-season tour matches against Celtic at the Rogers Centre in Toronto in the early hours of this morning and are due to fly to Philadelphia for the second leg of their 19day tour to Canada, North America and Mexico.
Patrice Evra is one of six players to have been excused from the tour because of his participation in the World Cup with France, but that has not spared the United defender from a rebuke by his club manager over his role in the France squad’s controversial decision to strike two days before their ignominious exit from the tournament.
Ferguson may have been involved in a players’ strike over an expenses row when he was on Falkirk's books in 1972, but the Scot has made it clear to Evra that he and his France teammates were wrong to boycott training 48 hours before their final group game, against South Africa.
“I’ve spoken to him [Evra],” Ferguson said. “The fact that he was the captain meant he was put forward as the spokesman to the coach [Raymond Domenech] and they made a decision which I think they all regret now in not training. I think that was a terrible decision.
“It wasn’t an individual one, it was a collective decision which he as captain took to the coach and therefore the rebound effect has been very much on his shoulders and that's disappointing.”
Ferguson was more supportive of Howard Webb, the English referee who came under criticism from Holland and Spain for his handling of the World Cup final, when 14 yellow cards were issued and one player off.
“I think he was given an impossible task with the behaviour of the players,” Ferguson said. “He was left in that position of continual fouling in the match in the first half that there was no way out for him. If he had sent a player off, then there would be criticism; he didn't send a player off and got criticism.”
