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Appetite vital for next England boss says Beckham
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-01 09:20
LIVERPOOL, England, March 1 (Reuters) - Passion, a hunger for success and
preferably some Champions League experience are what the next England manager
needs, according to captain David Beckham.
 Sven-Goran Eriksson's departure after the World Cup has sparked a national
debate over the Swede's replacement, notably over whether he should be English,
British or foreign.
Bolton's Sam Allardyce and Charlton's Alan Curbishley are home favourites,
Northern Ireland's Martin O'Neill is also popular and Dutchman Guus Hiddink, who
took South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals, is tipped as the most likely
foreigner to succeed.
Beckham would not name preferred names, though his list of qualities does no
favours for Allardyce or Curbishley, neither of whose clubs have won a major
title or reached the Champions League.
"You need passion," Beckham told reporters as he prepared for Wednesday's
friendly against Uruguay at Anfield.
"People may have said that Sven hasn't got the passion but he has. He shows
it in a different way and that's what you need in a manager. You need the
confidence to go out there and pick the right team and also be ruthless.
"To be a top-flight manager you have to have a certain amount of hunger.
"To do this job, you have to have an enormous amount because the expectations
in our country are very high and rightly so, because we have got some great
players."
As for their track record, Beckham said: "The manager has to have a certain
amount of experience, that's part and parcel of being a top-flight manager, to
be able to handle big games, like in the Champions League and World Cups.
"You do need to have a certain amount of experience on that side."
Given the expectations of the fans, Beckham made it clear the Football
Association had little room for error, whoever they chose.
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