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LONDON - JOSE Mourinho has given the first clear indication that he is seriously considering becoming England's next manager.
Asked on Friday if he could be the successor to Steve McClaren, the former Chelsea boss responded with a smile and a 'Why not?' that will only consolidate his status as favourite to take on the challenge of turning England into world-beaters.
The English Football Association had earlier denied that any approach had been made to Mourinho or any other potential candidate.
The governing body has however confirmed that it has completed its process of canvassing opinions among senior football figures on how it should go about finding a new manager, which could clear the way for Mourinho to be interviewed for the position.
Mourinho's first direct comment on the subject was made at his home in Portugal in a brief exchange with a reporter from Sky Sports News.
In it, he confirmed that he had cancelled plans to travel to London this week.
Mourinho said: 'I would like to be in London with my family for a couple of days but nobody would believe the reason why I am there - just to see friends and do some Christmas shopping. So to try to stop speculation, we decided to stay here.'
There has been speculation that Mourinho has encouraged the FA to believe that he could be interested in the England job in order to prompt a leading club into offering him a job - a suggestion he dismissed, according to Sky.
According to English media reports, the search for the next England manager has been whittled down to five candidates: Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, Jurgen Klinsmann and Martin O'Neill.
Of those, only Capello has unequivocally declared his interest in taking on the post.
Lippi, who led Italy to World Cup glory in Germany last year, and O'Neill, who was passed over when McClaren got the job last year, have both said they are not interested.
McClaren was sacked last month after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. -- AFP
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