Capello and O'Neill look serious contenders

Fabio Capello is under serious consideration by the Football Association for the job of succeeding Steve McClaren as England manager and he has indicated that he would be receptive to the challenge.

While Martin O'Neill, the Aston Villa manager, has emerged as a front-runner and is thought to be favoured by Brian Barwick, the FA chief executive, Jurgen Klinsmann is another continental candidate who would be open to an approach.

The Italian has long been on the FA's radar. He had talks with Howard Wilkinson, then the governing body's technical director, in the wake of Kevin Keegan's leaving of the England post in 2000 and, although the FA subsequently appointed Sven-Goran Eriksson, Capello's contacts with Soho Square have remained.

Capello does not want to make the running for the job and as a coach of global repute - he has won league titles in Italy and Spain and the 1994 Champions League - he is aware that other opportunities will come up before the end of next summer.

He would not relish going through the formalities of very public rounds of interviews with Barwick, as happened when the job was last open and was ultimately given to the ill-fated McClaren.

But he would be keen for discreet discussions and he indicated as much when the question was put to him on Wednesday night. Capello, who was sacked by Real Madrid at the end of last season despite having won La Liga for the second time, was working as a pundit for Rai, the Italian TV channel, on Italy's Euro 2008 qualifier with the Faroe Islands when asked about the England job. "It would be a challenge, a beautiful test to overcome and I would be the right age," said the 61-year-old.

Klinsmann is from a similar mould. He sees the parallels between England today, at their lowest ebb since 1994, when they last failed to qualify for a major tournament, and Germany in 2004. Back then, Germany were coming to terms with their abject performance under Rudi Voller at Euro 2004 and a seemingly bleak future.

O'Neill has already received the blessing of Aston Villa's owner, Randy Lerner, to leave should he be offered the job. He realises that, having been overlooked in favour of McClaren last time, this is likely to be his final chance of managing England. But O'Neill believes he is building a strong squad at Villa and, with an owner who has faith in him, is reluctant to leave.

Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho (44) has been out of football since leaving Stamford Bridge in September but is believed to be waiting for a club rather than a national post. Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has also said he does not want the England job.

Radio 5 Live's football correspondent Jonathan Legard said: "Mourinho is apparently champing at the bit to return to football management. But not for a job, however lucrative and high profile, that only allows him to do what he does so well - working with players - a couple of times every few months.

"He's like a lion in a cage, I was told, but a national job, even such a special post like England, would only appeal at a later stage in his career and the chances are even then that would only be the Portugal job."