THE League Managers Association (LMA) is expected to comment on the FA’s interest in Luiz Felipe Scolari this morning and it must be hoped that the 24-hour pause for breath will prevent the organisation from saying anything stupid.

If Scolari was to be appointed — still a big “if” — it would not be an insult to English coaches but a challenge to get better. The message would not be that Steve McClaren is not good enough to lead his country but that, at this juncture, the world champion has been deemed the best man for the job.

We await to hear the words from John Barnwell, the chief executive of the LMA, but if he believes that the English public is ready to protest outside Soho Square at the prospect of the Brazilian succeeding Sven- Göran Eriksson, he should prepare for a lonely vigil. The appetite is for success, not a choice based on passports.

Scolari’s candidacy remains fraught with complications, which could yet give McClaren a promotion to the hot seat, but it seems churlish to start criticising the FA now for considering a foreign candidate when it was clear from the start that an Italian, a Dutchman, a Brazilian and a Northern Irishman were in the mix.

The argument has been put forward that Scolari is somehow “more foreign” than Guus Hiddink or Martin O’Neill and so would not understand the northern European culture. But perhaps English players might learn something from his South American one.

If the FA had wanted to consider only English candidates, and the LMA had believed that it should, both organisations could and should have said so forcibly three months ago. It might not have brought universal approval, but it would have been a stand — one of which they could have been proud. A statement of principle. Instead, the FA is in a difficult situation of its own making. Too many senior councillors briefed that, this time, they would be looking to home-grown talent. They primed too many people for disappointment.

With so many leaks pointing towards Scolari, the FA is also in the position where it may have to walk away from its favoured candidate if a deal cannot be agreed. Another fine mess, you might say with some justification, although there would be no shame for McClaren if the job fell to him by default.

Scolari’s credentials are highly impressive, even if his grasp of English is moderate. We should certainly destroy the idea that anyone could have led Brazil to success at the 2002 World Cup finals.

Yes, he was a lucky man to be able to summon Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, but no one was talking about his wonderful inheritance when he became the third manager of the Seleção in a turbulent 12 months.

Scolari’s first match was a qualifier against Uruguay in July 2001 and anyone who had predicted after that 1-0 defeat that Brazil would go on to lift their fifth World Cup would have been escorted out of the Centenary Stadium by the men in white coats. I know because I was there. And, as the report from the time makes clear, the golden shirts might have been made of lead.

“As their team took its unlikely place among England’s elite four seasons ago, the followers of Barnsley loved to sing that ‘it’s just like watching Brazil’. To see Brazil in Montevideo on Sunday night was just like watching Barnsley. It brings no joy to report that the sickness in Brazilian football has not been exaggerated one bit.”

Scolari turned a team bereft of confidence into worthy, attractive champions, building on a well-established reputation in Brazilian club football. He went on to Portugal, where he led the host nation to the final at Euro 2004, boldly dropping players on the way and — David Beckham beware — substituting Luis Figo, to the captain’s public disgust.

He is a renowned, respected coach, which is why even some of the anti-foreign brigade on the FA’s board were willing to bury their prejudices. Whether they get him or not, they clearly thought he was the best man for the job.

• How would Fabio Capello, that heavyweight of Italian football, have shaped up in an interview for the England job? We shall never know because Juventus declined to give the FA permission to speak to their manager when he was on the ten-man longlist.
  
• Good news from the Newcastle United training ground, where Michael Owen took part in full training yesterday. Suffice to say that he found the net — more than once. He is on course to play for his club and, with more than six weeks until England’s first match at the World Cup finals, Sven-Göran Eriksson looks to have one less thing to worry about.

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