Video: Pietersen returns to England | Video: Pietersen's press conference

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Andrew Strauss warned yesterday that reintegrating a chastened Kevin Pietersen into the England dressing-room will require effort on all sides as he began the process of welcoming his predecessor as captain back among the ranks. It was also claimed that Pietersen had considered Shane Warne as a potential alternative to Peter Moores as head coach.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Pietersen, who played under the former Australia leg spinner’s captaincy at Hampshire, wanted to reassemble the successful trio of Warne, Darren Berry and Jeremy Snape, who supervised the charge of the unfancied Rajasthan Royals to the Indian Premier League title last May.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, said that Pietersen did not mention Warne’s name in any discussions held during the breakdown of the former captain’s relationship with Moores. However, writing in The Times today, Warne reveals that he did receive a tongue-in-cheek approach from Pietersen via text message, but turned it down.

Warne, who would require a salary way beyond the £250,000 earned by Moores, distances himself from the England job and says: “I could not give a full-time position the time to do it properly. Following a team around the world is what I have given up. If I was happy to do that, I would still be playing.” However, Warne adds that “if an offer comes that sounds too good to be true, I would have to stop and think”.

Strauss will find out today whether the selectors are prepared to offer the one-day captaincy on top of the Test job. The England and Wales Cricket Board is also expected to announce a temporary coach for the tour to the West Indies that begins on January 21, with Andy Flower, the batting coach, the most likely candidate from within the present set-up.

Pietersen returned to England from his safari holiday in South Africa yesterday and is likely to reserve his next comments for his Sunday newspaper column. Strauss revealed that he had already spoken twice to Pietersen since his resignation on Wednesday, when Moores was also dismissed, and expressed sympathy for the downfall of “a good mate”.

“Sometimes people get pushed into corners,” Strauss said. “My experience of the England dressing-room has been that we have got on well and I don’t think anything has happened to change that. We have some strong characters, which you want. My job is to manage them and make sure we are going in the right direction as a team.

“It will take some effort from all of us to pull together. We are not going to walk into the dressing-room first time with everything hunky-dory. I do not believe that the rift is as bad as people think. We must make sure Kevin is comfortable in the team environment and any issues between players are dealt with.

“Kevin is a very strong-willed person and that was a strength. He had a vision of where English cricket needed to go, backed himself to deliver that and was not worried about upsetting people along the way. That is a very positive trait to have, but in another way it will create confrontation at times. That is the way it worked out.”

Strauss thought carefully before accepting the Test job. “I believe I am the right person to do it at this stage,” he said. “It is important that there is leadership in the England side. That was my prime reason for taking it on and it was very important to give Kevin my reasons for saying yes and being clear about my take on things.

“He has been very supportive with me so far. Clearly it is a tough situation for him. I am sure he has his own side of the story, but I believe very strongly that he did what he thought was in the best interest of the team as England captain. He should not be vilified for that. He says he will support me and I really believe him.”