THE FA’s search for a new England manager was stuck in an embarrassing impasse yesterday when Luiz Felipe Scolari, the preferred choice of the majority of the headhunting panel, reiterated that he would not be pressed into accepting the job before the World Cup finals.

Scolari’s deep reluctance to be linked publicly with England, which he (perhaps a little oversensitively) fears could cause a backlash against him in Portugal, was revealed in The Times yesterday as a potential stumbling block to his appointment. It has certainly caused consternation at the FA, with the governing body caught in an awkward limbo.

The FA could simply strike a gentleman’s agreement with the Brazilian that he will take over in August, but having promised to announce the name of the new head coach before the tournament, Brian Barwick, the chief executive, wants to end the speculation as soon as possible.

The alternative is to consider other managers on the shortlist, with Steve McClaren understood to be the next in line, ahead of Sam Allardyce, but the FA would be reluctant not to go with its first-choice candidate, having spent almost three months drawing up shortlists and conducting interviews.

Scolari’s apparent intransigence will be particularly frustrating at Soho Square, given that Dave Richards, the chairman of the FA Premier League, who had seemed determined to appoint a British candidate, is believed to have accepted the case for Scolari. The argument for the Brazilian has been championed by David Dein and no one would ever have expected the Arsenal vice-chairman and Richards to speak with a common voice.

The main objector will be Sir Trevor Brooking, the director of football development, who has gone on record to state that there is no point in having a coaching structure if the best English candidates are not promoted. Stuart Pearce, the manager of Manchester City, claimed yesterday that “everyone I speak to in the street wants a British manager”, and other figures within the game are bound to raise concerns about the possibility of another foreign appointment.

It may not appease the critics to learn that Scolari would earn at least a third less than Eriksson, with a salary cap of £3 million. But that depends on the FA closing the deal.

So great has been Scolari’s reluctance to be linked with England that the Portugal head coach has refused to confirm whether he had an interview, even though his own employers gave him permission and he flew over for two rounds of talks with the FA. The prospect of England facing Portugal in the quarter-finals of the World Cup is a particular concern. “I am the Portugal coach and I am only thinking and speaking about Portugal until the last day of the World Cup,” he said.

His agent, Acaz Felleger, added that “if the FA are interested to sign him they should have been focused on their work for the World Cup like Felipe Scolari is. England must think first of this World Cup and then of other issues.”

It may trouble the FA to learn that Scolari was in a similar position before Euro 2004, when Benfica revealed that he would be taking over the Lisbon club after the tournament. He refused to be pushed into a deal and decided to stay with the Portuguese federation.

“He has an agreement with the head of the Portuguese FA that he will not take a job until after the World Cup,” a federation spokesman said. “He will not break his promise.” The FA was still insisting last night that an appointment would be taken to the full board at its next meeting on May 4.

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