FA need time to get it right - Barwick

The FA board moved swiftly to sack both Steve McClaren and assistant Terry Venables in the wake of the failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

"I am asking for a little bit of patience at the moment," Barwick said. "I think the fact I will be given the opportunity to lead from the front on this is significant. "We have got to get the right person."

A full "root and branch examination" of the whole England senior team set-up is to be conducted as the nation struggles to come to terms with missing the first major international tournament in more than a decade.

Just who will head up the England team by the time their next fixture comes around - likely to be against Euro 2008 joint-hosts Switzerland in February - remains subject for speculation, with a caretaker appointment the most likely immediate outcome.

Bookmakers have installed former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho as the early favourite for the job on a permanent basis, with Barwick revealing this time around, there would be no clamour for the role to necessarily be filled by an Englishman.

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill is another leading candidate, while Fabio Capello has expressed an interest, but Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has been quick to rule himself out.

Barwick added: "It is a very, very tough job because if you lose a game, you wait three months to play the next one.

"Also the level of interest you derive for the public, which we are beneficiaries of to be frank - that's how we sell our sponsorship and television deals - is the sometimes virtuous and sometimes vicious circle we are in.

"We are dealing with level of exposure to the English national team, the likes of which has changed beyond all recognition."