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Redknapp right man for England - McClaren

Harry Redknapp is the ideal candidate to replace Fabio Capello as England manager, according to Steve McClaren © Getty Images

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Former England manager Steve McClaren believes Harry Redknapp has the right credentials to become Fabio Capello's successor next year.

Capello will hand over the reins when his contract expires after the 2012 European Championship, and reports linking Tottenham manager Redknapp with the upcoming vacancy refuse to go away.

The 64-year-old appeared in the dugout for the first time since undergoing minor heart surgery on Monday, as Spurs climbed to third in the Premier League courtesy of a 2-0 win over Aston Villa. Since taking charge at White Hart Lane, Redknapp has taken Spurs into the Champions League and currently boasts an enviable-looking squad.

And, with calls for Capello's heir to be English, McClaren - who was in charge of the national team from 2006 to 2007 - is backing Redknapp, who won the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008, to take over from the Italian.

"Harry's credentials are as good as anybody else's," he told the BBC. "I say the England manager has to be experienced, he has to have European experience, and he has to have won something. Harry fits the bill in all of those."

Regardless of who is selected to replace Capello, McClaren is adamant the coach and the Football Association must forge a footballing philosophy that can be adopted by the senior team and the Under-21s. The FA is already looking ahead, launching its plans for the future of English football in January and continuing to ready a new national training centre - St George's Park in Burton-on-Trent - for 2012, but McClaren says it is crucial the governing body does not forget who its long-term strategy for success is focused on.

"We are looking at the Spanish, the Dutch and the German games but we are the English game. We have to find what wins with England," he said. "There are a lot of very good things in English football, there are a lot of very good young players. But how are we going to win so everybody says, 'Wow, that's the English way'?

"There has to be a vision from the FA and that has to be from the academies all the way to the top and St George's Park is perfect. The English manager needs to be the best man to take that philosophy forward and the best man to get England winning. Ultimately we ought to have a long-term strategy, a long-term vision, not just [an idea of] what is going to win the next tournament."

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