Now beat Russia to show the desperate days are over

When Eriksson departed without too many tears being shed after the 2006 World Cup and homegrown Steve McClaren replaced him, it looked as if the Brits-only brigade had won both the battle and the war.

It says much for the dramatic decline of our national team over the past 15 months that, as Guus Hiddink brings his Russia team to Wembley this week ready to show the FA what they are missing, Charlton admits to a change of heart.

For while England may have brushed aside a poor Israel side yesterday, Charlton says that if the Russians prove sterner stuff and England still fail to qualify for Euro 2008, he would not only consider going back to a foreign manager, he positively welcome it.

Sir Bobby exuded enthusiasm and optimism as he talked this week about his beloved football club at the launch of his autobiography, My Manchester United Years. But there was a perceptible change in his mood when the topic of England came up. 'Desperate',was the word he used on more than one occasion.

While the lack of emerging young English players has become a frequent talking point in recent weeks, Charlton believes there may also be a problem higher up, aware that domestic managers capable of reaching the same standards of Sir Bobby Robson or Sir Alf Ramsey are rare, if not non-existent.

United are alone among the Big Four in having a British manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have all opted for continental savoir faire and as McClaren's England ship heads dangerously close to the rocks,those supporters of Luiz Felipe Scolari or Hiddink, two foreign powers heavily tipped to replace Eriksson before the FA opted for an Englishman, are already yelling: "Told you so."

Having scored a record 49 goals for England and experienced four World Cups, Charlton is not a natural ally for the global lobby. But he acknowledges that if things carry on as they are under McClaren, his country may have little choice but to seek help from elsewhere.

"I have always said I would prefer a British manager," he said. "It helps the players initially to have somebody who knows our game and the way we play. But we are at the stage where you think: "These are desperate times for England". It will be desperate if we don't qualify and when things are desperate, you don't have the luxury of restricting yourself to an English or a Scottish manager. You have to find the right manager."

While no one would pick Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger or Rafael Benitez to challenge the likes of Steve Bruce or Peter Reid in hand-to-hand combat, the continental coaches possess a steely streak alongside their obvious tactical acumen. Incredibly, Robson, now 74, remains the last English manager to have experience of the Champions League.

Although some English manager have fallen for the stereotype of meaningless shouting so sharply portrayed in Ricky Tomlinson's fictional England manager, Mike Bassett, Charlton suspects they might not be tough enough inside. He was reared at international level by a hard taskmaster, Ramsey.

"He didn't care about winning your hearts and minds - he just wanted to win" Sir Bobby. He feels the tough love of a Benitez or Ferguson — although the Scottish firebrand would never consider managing England — might fare better than the more sympathetic approach of McClaren's regime, sports psychologists and all.

"All the best managers are tough," he said. "You need to be really strong-minded or you will catch a cold with players who turn out to be prima donnas.

"You are handling players who are being paid so much money, you have to be a tough man to get right through to them."

Charlton is only too aware of the importance — yesterday's result against Israel notwithstanding — of Wednesday's Wembley clash with Russia. "It will be a difficult game," he said.

"The players shouldn't have started thinking about these two games last week, they should have been thinking about the match for months, since we played our last qualifying matches."

Charlton is fond of telling a story about Ramsey before the 1966 World Cup. "He got all the players to a team meeting and said: 'Now, has anyone got any problems? I am here to listen'.

"It was ages before one of the lads bravely piped up that the suits we were given were too hot for summer. 'I like them and you will wear them', snapped Alf. And that was it — no discussion! "It might seem funny but the players appreciated they knew who was in charge."

The celebrity culture among the England players and their WAGs has been a recurring theme in recent times.

McClaren threatened to get tough by axing David Beckham following the World Cup but has performed a 180-degree turn since then, not only recalling him but letting him fly 6,000 miles to perform on an injured ankle and move one nearer to the magic 100 caps. In his book, Charlton gives a fascinating insight into how Beckham's celebrity lifestyle hastened the player's departure from Old Trafford in 2003 when Ferguson stood up to his biggest superstar.

"Beckham thought a celebrity lifestyle, being drawn into the showbiz world of his wife Victoria, was compatible with the regime of a professional player. His manager did not," wrote Charlton.

"Apart from his wonderful ball skills, David had another well-developed talent; understanding how publicity works. There were two occasions when this knack came to my attention.

Someone leaned over to me at Old Trafford and asked if I had noticed that David ran to the corner flag on his own when he scored.But when someone else scored, he was the first one hanging on him. I was told: 'I suppose it means he is always in the picture'.

His awareness of media response was underlined for me when we were in Singapore for the final campaigning of the London 2012 Olympic bid.

We were sitting together when Jacques Rogge, the IOC president, came on to the stage to make the announcement. David turned to me and said: 'Paris have got it, look how the photographers are all going to the French delegation'. As I waited, I thought: "I would never have noticed that". Of course, London won the vote."

The irony for Charlton is that while our English superstars become more high maintenance, it may now take a top foreign manager to control them.