Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is the ideal man to become the next manager of England, according to his former Southampton colleague Sir Clive Woodward.

Woodward, who guided England to the Rugby World Cup title in 2003, was employed by the Saints as their technical support director in 2005 when Redknapp was manager.

And Woodward told The Independent on Sunday: “He’s an Englishman who’s proved himself and from what I saw of him, he’s ideally suited.

“I learned so much. The players respect him hugely. He has this incredible talent for spotting and grooming talent. I hope England do well in Euro 2012 with (Fabio) Capello but after that I’d like to see Harry in charge because he is a world-class coach.”

Redknapp’s Tottenham are flying high this season, sitting third in the Premier League, three points behind second-placed Manchester United with a game in hand.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.