The English Football Association is beginning its search for the next England manager after Fabio Capello sensationally quit the top job over the John Terry race row.
Harry Redknapp is being hotly tipped to take over from the Italian, who resigned last night after publicly challenging the FA's decision to strip Terry of the team's captaincy.
Capello's shock decision to step down from his £6 million-a-year post was made at almost exactly the same time the Tottenham Hotspur boss walked free from London's Southwark Crown Court, where he was acquitted of tax fraud.
The FA is to hold a press conference with chiefs under pressure to make a hasty replacement before the European Championships in four months time.
Londoner Redknapp, who is the bookmakers' favourite to become the next national coach, has yet to say whether he would take the job.
Capello's resignation was announced after crisis talks with FA chairman David Bernstein and general secretary Alex Horne at Wembley. He had been enraged after the FA went over his head to strip Terry of the captaincy until after his July court case where he will deny racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand.
Capello told Italian TV that he "absolutely" disagreed with the action against the Chelsea defender and that set him on a collision course with the FA.
Redknapp, 64, who was unanimously cleared of tax dodging on £189,000 in a Monaco account named after his dog, said his bung slur "nightmare" should never have reached trial following the not guilty verdicts.
His acquittal alongside co-defendant Milan Mandaric marked a disastrous end for an £8 million investigation into football corruption by the tax authorities and City of London Police which failed to yield a single conviction. Mandaric and former Portsmouth FC chief executive Peter Storrie were also cleared of £600,000 tax dodge charges at a previous trial, it can now be reported.
Bookmaker William Hill slashed Redknapp's odds to 8/15 to take over the nation's team in time for the first Euro 2012 match against France, while Coral stopped taking wagers on the bet.