OH THE irony. Post-Sven-Göran Eriksson, the main criterion for the next England manager was that he should regard the job as his calling, as the pinnacle of the profession, the dream post, one that he would never dream of abandoning for Chelsea.

So what happens next? The favoured choice finds himself wondering whether to grasp an alternative offer and head up to Newcastle United before he has even jumped into the hot seat.

Martin O’Neill may yet find the England job impossible to resist but there is a lesson for all of us, especially the FA’s headhunters, in the fact that he could even contemplate Newcastle as a viable option. It is that, however mercenary Eriksson may have seemed in flirting with Chelsea and Manchester United, it is ridiculous to expect that his successor will never consider an alternative career.

The England job is unique, and potentially lucrative, but ultimately it is only a job. Whatever prestige comes with the FA blazer, O’Neill — or any of the candidates — is entitled to regard it as a choice rather than a privilege.

Eriksson’s off-field antics may have become tiresome, but someone needs to puncture the idea that the next man must be beyond reproach, the managerial equivalent of a virgin. Such a man does not exist and if we all grasp that now, we might not feel so let down in a couple of years.

The next England manager is quite entitled to sing karaoke in his own West End nightclub (it did not stop Terry Venables reaching the semi-finals of Euro 96) or to hold bizarre religious views (although not a patronising regard for the disabled) provided that he keeps winning football matches. He does not have to be “happily married”, which was the demand of one member of the FA’s international committee.

Nor does he have to be British simply because, in the words of Dave Richards, the chairman of the FA Premier League, that brings a guarantee of passion, loyalty and devotion to the cause. Does he mean loyal like Don Revie, who brought the position into more disrepute than any Swede?

Clearly the FA would prefer that the next man does not arrive at Soho Square with a lorryload of baggage but it has reached the ludicrous point where doubts are being raised about Sam Allardyce’s suitability, in part, because he likes propping up the bar till the early hours at football dinners.

Finding someone who is temperamentally suited to the post, and able to handle the media scrutiny, might be important but the FA panel needs to remember that it is not a saviour but a decent football coach they are seeking. They can take for granted that the job will find foibles in anyone, even a man who keeps them as well hidden as O’Neill.

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

MAYBE it is a size issue. Perhaps Gordon Strachan thinks that the more he belittles other people, the bigger that makes him.

Whatever the thinking, the Scot’s habit of humiliating journalists does nothing but diminish his standing (and, at 5ft 6in, there is not much to shrink).

Sunday’s post-match interview at Ibrox was by no means the worst example. A soft question about the success of the Neil Lennon-Roy Keane partnership was answered disdainfully, a query about whether the title had been sewn up met with contempt. “Why have you got your questions written down? Did your mum write them for you?” Strachan asked one reporter. Everybody cringed.

Some say Strachan is a good bloke, but he appears to be hiding it well from the Scottish press. And, if the rumours are anything to go by, he may soon need all the friends he can get.

Even though he is certain to lift the championship in his first season, some influential figures have yet to forgive him for presiding over the defeats to Artmedia Bratislava and Clyde.

CELTIC AND RANGERS NOT FIT TO FIGHT IN THE PREMIERSHIP

THERE WAS a time not so long ago when hardly a week went by without someone making the case for Celtic and Rangers being admitted to the English Premiership. David Dein, the vice-chairman of Arsenal, has been the most influential backer, but, had he been at Ibrox to watch the Old Firm game on Sunday, he might have denied it.

In their present, sorry state, Rangers could not be assured of avoiding relegation while any team that replaces John Hartson with Dion Dublin, as Celtic did, is, with the greatest respect to the two old veterans, hardly likely to have fans of Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal queueing round the corner.

The only thing that English football might want to borrow is the rule that allows SPL clubs, as in Uefa competitions, to have seven rather than five substitutes. And, er, that’s it.

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