Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce said he would be very surprised if Portugal head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari got the England job after the World Cup.

“Is Scolari the new kid on the block at the moment?” said the former England defender.

The Brazilian, who has reportedly been taking English lesson’s, guided Brazil to win the 2002 World Cup, had recently distanced himself from the England job by revealing he would only make a decision on his future after this summer's World Cup Finals.

“After 31 July I will think about my future,” said Scolari. “I have talked with the Portuguese Football Association's president and we have decided that we will talk after the World Cup.”

Even though the FA have said that the appointment of the new England head coach will be revealed before the World Cup Finals, speculation has now increased that the current Portugal boss may succeed Eriksson in the summer.

But Pearce is doubtful about his appointment, instead thinking the FA will appoint an Englishman.

“He certainly has an impressive record and has managed in lots of different countries. But people I speak to in the street all want an English manager.

“The groundswell of opinion from the general public is that a British-based manager will get the job.”

Pearce, who is now believed to be out of the running to replace Eriksson, believes too much notice is being taken of prospective coaches’ recent records.

“If I was looking to appoint someone to do the national job their immediate run of results wouldn't overly matter,” he said.

“You cannot say whether someone is a good or bad manager over a period of three or four months.

“But that seems to be the nature of the business we are in at the minute.

“Steve McClaren started as 20-1 outsider but because of the run of results he is now the favourite.”

It has been suggested that Pearce could play some sort of coaching role in the new England set-up, but says he is only focusing on managing Manchester City.

“If a coaching post was ever offered to me I would have to speak about it,” he said.

“But as I stand at the moment, managing a Premiership team is a full-time job.”

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