Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admits he is "flattered" to be the overwhelming favourite to succeed Fabio Capello as England boss but appeared to rule out the prospect of combining his club role with managing the national team.
The 64-year-old is the bookmakers' favourite for the England job and appears to be the popular choice among supporters, the media and other managers and players.
Asked if he was flattered to be the popular choice to lead England, he told a press conference televised by Sky Sports News: "Yes of course. It's nice if people put me in a position where they think I've got a chance of getting the job.
"It is flattering, other managers have come out and said nice things and I appreciate everybody's support really."
Redknapp appeared to rule out the possibility of coaching England and Tottenham at the same time, saying: "It is hard enough managing a league club let alone managing your country, it's two very difficult jobs.
"I think your focus has got to be on one job, you can't be going home thinking, 'Who's playing well in this situation?'
"I can't take my eye off the ball at Tottenham at the moment because we're looking to get Champions League football, we're still in the FA Cup and I owe it to them to continue to keep completely focused on the job I'm doing here.
"It wouldn't be fair to anybody here if I started to let my thoughts wander elsewhere."
Capello resigned on Wednesday after the FA board went over his head to strip John Terry of the captaincy while the Chelsea defender prepares to contest a charge of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand at a trial in July.
Redknapp admitted it had been a testing few days, having been cleared of tax evasion charges at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, just hours before Capello's resignation.
Redknapp added: "It's knocked me for six. I haven't felt so good the last couple of days but I feel better today.
"(My appetite for the Spurs job) has never waned, things were going well in the football but things were hanging over me which were always a problem for me, but thankfully it's gone now and we can move on."
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Redknapp is the best man for the job, but warned of the difficulties of trying to combine looking after a national team with club duties, having been in charge of both Aberdeen and Scotland in 1986.
He said: "I tried it myself with Scotland (at the World Cup) in Mexico. I found it very difficult."
Arsene Wenger and Guus Hiddink, two of the foreign managers in the frame to succeed Capello, played down their respective candidacies for the England job.
Arsenal boss Wenger does not believe he is suited to international management, describing it as a "sprinter's job" compared to the "marathon job" of club management.
Hiddink's "strong personal relationship" with ousted captain Terry could rule him out of contention.
Hiddink worked closely with Terry during a short but successful spell with Chelsea in the second half of the 2008-09 season which culminated in the Blues winning the FA Cup, and his agent Cees van Nieuwenhuizen told the Daily Telegraph that could be a stumbling block to his appointment.
"I don't, based on previous conversations with England FA board members, imagine that it would work," he said.
"Guus also has a very strong personal relationship with John Terry and would be on his side in all this."
Van Nieuwenhuizen also indicated his client would not be interested in taking on the role just for Euro 2012.
"He's not done that in the past and had always previously also been involved in qualification," he added.
The four-man Club England board were planning to sit down today to begin the process of selecting Capello's successor and former England captain Alan Shearer insists the FA should "move heaven and earth" to secure Redknapp.
"I think he is made for it," Shearer told the BBC's Football Focus programme.
"He understands players and players understand him. That is a perfect mix. I'd move heaven and earth to get him."
Shearer backed the FA's decision to strip Terry of the captaincy, but could understand Capello's frustration that the decision had been taken without his approval.
"Having been England captain, particularly leading up to the tournament, you are asked to do all sorts with the media," he said.
"It would have been hard for John Terry to do that without people asking millions of questions."
