Angry fans send Crozier hate mail

Beckham, who is almost certain to be named captain for England's friendly against Spain at Villa Park on February 28, will see his Old Trafford team-mates benefit from the same criterion, with Paul Scholes, in particular, earmarked for a major role under Eriksson.

However, quality will count ahead of age for goalkeepers David James and Paul Robinson, who will be promoted ahead of Robinson's Leeds team-mate Nigel Martyn and Arsenal's David Seaman.

The FA will introduce a new professional coaching badge which will end the practice of big-name players being rewarded with managers' jobs without acquiring any qualifications.

Crozier condemned the culture which led to a dearth of top-class English managers being available when the FA looked abroad for candidates. He said: 'England as a country, whether it be in football or any other sport, has not invested in coaching for 20 or 30 years. It's no surprise that Steve Redgrave has a German coach or the cricket team a Zimbabwean.

'It's because we haven't put the investment in and then we wonder why we haven't got the end product. Everyone understood from the word go that we had to go a different way.'

England's abject failure in Euro 2000 was the catalyst for a major review of the game in its homeland, even if it took Kevin Keegan's resignation to kick-start the process.

Crozier is adamant, however, that Eriksson will not fall victim to any pressure to quit should results not be entirely positive early in his reign.

'We agreed that, if we were going to do this, we needed to commit for a long period and we must see it through if we are going to change for the better long term.'