So, the search is on for a new England football manager following the country's elimination from the Europen Championships. It was inevitable Steve McLaren had to go following the failure to qualify.

Last Wednesday night was hard to take for England fans, to say the least, although my Irish mother was kept entertained by the abysmal and frankly embarrassing first half display of the England side and found our humiliation amusing.

Nothing is guaranteed in football, but it is rightly expected that England qualify for major championships, considering the profile of some of our "superstars".

Whether you blame the manager or not, you cannot argue that non-qualification for the European Championships is not acceptable for a team of such stature.

Jose Mourinho is favourite to succeed him but would he make a good manager without Roman Abramovich's millions to bolster his squad after every defeat? Mourinho demands respect and has an air of confidence and determination but the ex-Chelsea boss says he'd rather hold out for a club than take charge of a country's team.

Other names on the shortlist include Martin O'Neill, who has enjoyed success wherever he has managed. However he's currently managing Aston Villa and is also linked with the Republic of Ireland job.

Paul Jewell, like O'Neill, has had managerial success, guiding Bradford City to the Premiership then on to survival in their first season, but like O'Neill he's also linked with the vacant Republic of Ireland job, and like Mourinho, has stated that he'd rather return to club management than the international game.

Luis Felipe Scolari was approached after the sacking of Sven-Goran Eriksson 18 months ago and displayed his lack of interest in managing England, so he is unlikely to accept the vacancy now.

Sam Allardyce and Arsene Wenger have already ruled themselves out of the job. Harry Redknapp himself has not dismissed the possibility, but Portsmouth have said they won't give the FA permission to talk to him.

The FA needs to take time to choose the best possible candidate rather than rushing the decision like last time around. Whoever it may be he's likely to have an easy summer, unless the FA decides to bring back the British Home Championships, an idea backed by Prime Minister and football fan Gordon Brown.

Seeing as though none of the British teams will be represented in Euro 2008 why not have our own tournament and resurrect the competition, where the four British nations compete against each other? This would bring back some excitement to the British public that will be missing next summer.

This idea would be criticised by domestic managers for having to let their stars play in "meaningless" games, risking injuries and exhaustion. But if the idea goes ahead I'm sure it would be an exciting tournament where old rivalries could be resurrected and provide an entertaining summer after all.