MOST people would be flattered if they were touted for the top managerial job in the country, but not Stuart Pearce. In an astonishing outburst yesterday, the Manchester City manager angrily rejected suggestions that he should succeed Sven-Göran Eriksson as England head coach, calling them “embarrassing, ludicrous and pathetic” and insisting that the position should not be filled by a “novice” such as himself.
Pearce’s comments came after Dave Whelan, the outspoken Wigan Athletic chairman, called for the Football Association to dismiss Eriksson in the wake of the “fake sheikh” scandal and put Pearce, the former England captain, and Paul Jewell, the Wigan manager, in joint control before the World Cup finals in Germany in June.
However, having taken charge of only 33 competitive matches since succeeding Kevin Keegan as City manager, initially on a caretaker basis, in March last year, Pearce believes that Whelan’s idea represents a “massive slur” to the country’s more experienced managers, even though Marco van Basten and Jürgen Klinsmann’s relative inexperience proved no bar to their appointments with the Holland and Germany teams respectively.
A hugely patriotic and committed player, Pearce’s only previous managerial experience came during the 1996-97 season, when his Nottingham Forest side were relegated from the Premiership.
“This must be the only industry in the world where you can have a total novice, who has not even been in management for one year, being touted for the top job in English football,” Pearce, 43, who won 78 caps for England, said.
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“I wouldn’t rule myself out of taking any job — it would be folly to do that — but I cannot understand why people make statements about me, an absolute amateur, and tout me for the England job.
“I was in management a couple of months when people were mentioning my name for England. Then, when we didn’t win any of our four games over Christmas, I never heard a word about England. All of a sudden we win the (Manchester) derby and now I am the next England manager again. It is absolutely ludicrous, absolutely pathetic, and I find it quite embarrassing.”
Pearce likened the situation to an MP who had not been elected by their own constituency being put forward as the next Prime Minister, or an apprentice electrician — Pearce’s job before he became a professional footballer — offering to rewire someone’s house despite not having the qualifications.
While Pearce remains an outside bet to succeed Eriksson, who has accepted that his days in charge are numbered, his defiant declaration is likely to be seen as another blow by the FA, whose list of potential successors to the Swede is already short.
One man perfectly qualified to do the job, according to Pearce, is Sam Allardyce, the Bolton Wanderers manager, with whom he will come face to face when City visit the Reebok Stadium tomorrow.
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“It is my belief that someone should have international experience and many years in club management before they are considered for a job like England and Sam has that,” Pearce, a former team-mate of Allardyce at Coventry City, said.
“He is doing everything that a manager wants to do in football. He is getting results, is consistent and is overachieving, especially when you consider the finances they pay out (at Bolton). He has everything that a future England manager would have on his CV.”