Redknapp ready to take England’s charge on temporary basis

London: Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, who emerged as favourite to succeed Fabio Capello, is interested in taking charge of England for this summer’s European Championships, but the Football Association will have to persuade him to lead the team into the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The support for Redknapp to guide England into Poland and Ukraine is increasing, with supporters and players tweeting their desire for him to become England’s new manager. Agreeing to do the job initially only for this summer, including the warm-ups against Norway and Belgium, would be a shrewd move by Redknapp, The Telegraph reports. It would ensure his avoiding the grief that stalks England managers during tournaments. It would keep his stock high, seeing him hailed as the man who accepted the most difficult of rescue missions. Redknapp insisted on Thursday that he was focused fully on the Spurs. “Tottenham have been fantastic and it wouldn’t be right to focus on anything other than them. I have not thought about England. The FA will make whatever decision they want to make and, hopefully, it will be right for the country,” he said. The FA accepted on Thursday that the man for Euro 2012 may not necessarily be the man for the 2014 World Cup. “I would probably draw the distinction between a manager long term and a manager for the tournament. We have got some flexibility when we consider the options,” said Alex Horne, the general secretary of the FA. In starting the process of finding Capello’s successor today, Horne will be joined by the FA chairman, David Bernstein, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington and FA director of football development, Sir Trevor Brooking. Bureau Report