Portugal head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has withdrawn from the race to become the next manager of England after complaining that the media intrusion in the past two days has affected him.

Scolari had been favourite to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson as the England boss after the World Cup Finals after FA Chief Brian Barwick travelled to Lisbon to try and secure a deal with the World Cup winning Brazilian.

Scolari has on Friday decided to withdraw his candidacy for the role, which now sees Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren the favourite to be the next boss of the Three Lions.

"I will not be the next England coach," said Scolari. "I was one of numerous candidates. I will be the Portugal coach until the end of the World Cup. Last night there were 20 reporters outside my house. I don't like this pressure so I will definitely not be coach of England."

He added: "Portugal at this moment cannot cope with a coach negotiating with other federations - they don't really need it at the time being," said Scolari, speaking on a trip to Germany whilst touring the facilities that the Portugal team will be using.

"Yesterday I talked with a few friends who helped in my decision. There were 20 reporters in front of my house - that was too much and I didn't like it all. I have been in talks with the English FA and I want to thank the Portuguese Federation president (Gilberto Madail) for giving them the chance to talk to them.

"I am not and will not be the England coach but I am happy the English federation (The FA) remembered my name and I expect them to name the new coach in the days to come.

"It was an interesting offer with several interesting options and I really thought about it for a long time."

The FA revealed Scolari contacted them ahead of his announcement to tell them he was pulling out and they will now consider their options as they seek to replace Sven-Goran Eriksson.

"Luiz Felipe Scolari this afternoon made The FA aware of his intention to release a statement regarding the England head coach position," said a statement on www.thefa.com. "It is no secret that Mr Scolari is one of the candidates that The FA has spoken to as part of the recruitment process.

"We will now reflect on his announcement before making any further comment as we move forward with the process."

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