The Sun says Sir Alex told a pal: "Jose Mourinho should be the next England manager.

"It is the job of club managers to get the most from their players technically.

"It is the job of the England manager to motivate the players - and there is no one better at that than Mourinho.

"If the FA consult me about it, I'll give them a shortlist of one - and tell them to get Mourinho."

Mourinho also got support from Michael Essien, one of his former players at Chelsea. He said: "Jose knows how to get the best out of high-quality players."