It's too late to tempt Mourinho so O'Neill tops FA wish list to replace McClaren

On a day when it emerged that Steve McClaren left his side baffled by the negative tactics he employed in the 2-1 defeat against Russia on Wednesday, Lerner took the unusual step of recommending Ulsterman O'Neill.

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Lerner said: "I would not stand in his way. Obviously, the FA would be interested in Martin because of the way he has handled himself at Aston Villa.

"That speaks well of his first year and the first part of this season."

Jose Mourinho is probably the most attractive potential candidate.

But sources close to the former Chelsea manager have said that, while he would have considered coming to England's rescue earlier in the qualifying campaign and then taking them to Euro 2008, he has no interest in the job beyond next summer.

Club football is his only serious interest.

O'Neill had the private backing of FA chief executive Brian Barwick before the job was offered first to Luiz Felipe Scolari and then given to McClaren.

Barwick may now find there are others who consider the hugely-respected former Celtic manager a serious contender if England fail to qualify for the European Championship.

Barwick was with McClaren and Prince William yesterday on a visit to a Newcastle school to promote the FA's Hat-trick project.

And while he gave the coach his continued support, it was a limp defence of a man who is sure to be sacked if Russia follow Wednesday's victory in Moscow with two more wins and eliminate England.

He said: "Let's keep 'crisis' in perspective. Steve's job is to make sure he gets his players ready for the Croatia game and the Austria friendly before it.

"Steve has our support, of course, and the reality of it is we do now need help from other teams.

"If Israel can take some type of result out of Russia, then we have got our job to do against Croatia."

But even as Barwick sought to shore up support for McClaren, more details of the coach's bizarre tactics emerged.

Players were astonished when McClaren told his full-backs, Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott, that they were not allowed to advance into their opponents' half.

Not only that, he also told wingers Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips to approach the game in a more defensive manner.

According to Guus Hiddink, the tactics played into Russia's hands. Even if England do somehow qualify for next summer's tournament in Austria and Switzerland, there is now concern among the players that McClaren may not be the right man to coach the national team.

Hiddink was among those considered when the search was on for the man to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson following last year's World Cup and he could well be on the FA's next short-list.

That said, he insisted on Wednesday night that he would sign the new contract he had been offered by the Russian federation.

Other top-level managers are also looking for employment. Marcello Lippi, Fabio Capello and Jurgen Klinsmann will feature in future discussions, as well as Portugal's Scolari.

In O'Neill's favour is the fact that he was among those interviewed last time and made it clear he wanted the job.

There are English managers to consider as well, of course, but for different reasons the FA may regard Sam Allardyce, Alan Curbishley, Steve Coppell, Steve Bruce and Gareth Southgate as less appealing.

While the FA prepare themselves for what is likely to be another difficult search, officials were also counting the potential cost of failure.

If England do not qualify and McClaren is sacked, the governing body could lose up to £12.5million.

Compensation for their manager would amount to around £2.5m, or a year's money, and there would be around £10m lost in merchandising and sponsorship revenue.

Tickets have been sold for next month's final qualifier against Croatia but they will struggle to fill Wembley for the scheduled friendly against Switzerland in February and the two games that are pencilled in at Wembley in May.

Those matches were supposed to be warm-up games for the European Championship finals.

Television revenue remains secure and the FA can still earn extra overseas rights if they organise a summer tour.

A trip to the United States has been mentioned.