Reading boss Steve Coppell is concerned that an Englishman may never again be appointed to any of the country's top jobs.
With the Football Association poised to appoint Fabio Capello as the new England coach, Coppell has voiced concern the home-grown boss must now be regarded as an endangered species.
He believes it is already impossible for an English manager to be recruited by an elite club and that more and more of the Barclays Premier League also-rans will look abroad in the future.
Coppell also made it clear he would not welcome former Italy international Capello to these shores.
He said: "I'm sad, to be honest. I'm a proud English manager and I would have loved an Englishman to have been in charge.
"You look at his CV and I must admit it is enticing. He is everything that you would want an England manager to be but, as an Englishman, how would you like an Italian coming in taking your job?
"You look at the list of contenders and what he has done ticks all the boxes but I just wish he was English.
"We have now created a situation where it is very hard for an English manager to get to the top of the tree.
"The only way realistically now for an English manager to get a job in the Premier League is if he takes a team up there himself.
"Certainly, none of the elite half of the table are going to appoint an English manager.
"I don't think I will ever get an elite job myself if I'm honest. The big teams will now always go for continental managers with European experience."
