Pearce to manage England for Netherlands friendly

London: Stuart Pearce will manage England for this month`s friendly against Netherlands while it searches for a permanent successor to Fabio Capello, FA chairman David Bernstein told a news conference on Thursday.

Capello resigned on Wednesday in the wake of a row over deposed England captain John Terry, leaving the national team without a manager four months before the start of Euro 2012. England Under-21 and British Olympic team coach Pearce will lead the team when they host Netherlands at Wembley on February 29 as they continue preparations for the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. "He knows the players very well," Bernstein said. "He just said if you would like me to do it, I would like to do it." Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp is the hot favourite to take over the job on a permanent basis but the Englishman said on Thursday he was not even thinking about it as his focus was on his club duties. While Bernstein would not comment on the widespread media speculation over Redknapp, he said there was a preference for an Englishman to get the job although no one was being ruled out. Bureau Report