Gary Lineker rules himself out of the running for the England job

Over the last few years we've seen a trend of former international strikers returning to take charge of their country's national team.

Jürgen Klinsmann was Germany coach long before his spell with the United States, Marco van Basten took the Netherlands to the quarter-finals of Euro 2008, and Diego Maradona even took charge of an Argentina World Cup campaign. But we might not get a repeat with England, even if the Three Lions job is vacant following the departure of Sam Allardyce. The Football Association is giving itself a bit of time to decide on a full-time replacement after announcing Gareth Southgate will take over for the next four games, but Gary Lineker has moved quickly to rule himself out of the running. We're pretty sure the suggestions of a Lineker-Shearer dream team were made in jest, but anyone hoping for the men with a combined 78 international goals will be left sorely disappointed. At the time of writing, Southgate is the bookies' favourite to earn the job on a permanent basis, while another former England international footballer - Glenn Hoddle - is fancied by some to get a second crack at it after leaving the role in 1999. Premier League managers Eddie Howe and Alan Pardew are also thought to be in the running, while reports in the Italian media suggest former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is on the FA's radar.