Stuart Pearce says his use of young players at Manchester City is proof he's the right man for the England U21 job.

"Manchester City probably survived last season on the academy links - players from the academy into the first-team squad and then flourishing," Pearce said.

"I'm talking about the Micah Richards, Joey Bartons and Shaun Wright-Phillips. It should be no different at international level.

"The manager of the seniors should have permanent and good links with the under-21 manager - are they good enough to make that breakthrough? That's how I see it, that's how it should be in the future."

He added: "Whenever your services are sought after by any organisation, they see something good in you. It's the same with me buying a player.

"The FA decided to approach me in January, it obviously tells you that maybe I ticked one or two of the boxes of the criteria they were looking for in an under-21 manager."