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FA general secretary Alex Horne claims Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is a leading contender to be the next England manager.

Horne has been talking up Redknapp's chances of succeeding Fabio Capello during BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme, although he insists another foreign candidate could also be considered again.

Horne said:"Harry Redknapp is a great manager. Tottenham are playing great football and to qualify well for the Champions League (knockout stage) from a position of being fourth favourites in the group is huge testimony to that.

"I would expect Harry to make a long list (for the England job). It may not be a very long long list."

Horne, however, has made it clear that they are in no rush to think about Capello's successor with the Italian set to remain in position until after the European Championships in 2012.

"He's there till 2012 which gives me 18, 19 months to prepare for that process," added Horne.

"It is not a policy decision that they (the contenders) would be English. It is an absolute preference for certain individuals. It is not yet a board decision.

"We thought about this long and hard when we got Fabio Capello. We got the right man for the job and that is what we will do again.

"It is not a policy decision that they will definitely be English.

"I will be finalising the selection process criteria during the first few months of next year for internal discussion."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email