Taylor is in his second spell as Under-21 manager

"If Steve wants to go for a full-time man, I understand," Taylor said.

"During my first spell as Under-21 coach from 1996 to 1999, I did the job full-time.

"You do the job better full-time. You make better contacts, you know when youngsters make their debuts and you can then keep an eye on them."

Taylor, who is manager of Crystal Palace, is still in charge on a game-by-game basis and will be oversee the Under-21's European Championships qualifier against Moldova on 15 August.

McClaren, who took over as England coach on Tuesday, is expected to confirm his complete backroom team next week.

Peter Taylor has a wealth of experience at that level Steve McClaren

Taylor is in his second spell in coaching the England youngsters - and has been in charge this time around since 2004.

And he added: "I thoroughly enjoy working with the under-21s and if the job is available on a match-to-match basis then I'm happy with that.

"I don't think there's a long-term guarantee that I'll be doing it all the time but all I'm thinking about at the moment is trying to qualify for the finals of the next tournament and get England to the Netherlands in 2007."

McClaren described Wednesday's meeting with Taylor as "very useful".

"It was really good to sit down with Peter and talk through how the senior and under-21s teams run alongside each other," said McClaren.

"He has a wealth of experience at that level and we had a very useful meeting.

"The under-21s are an extremely valuable way of giving young players top level international experience."

Taylor became Palace manager in the summer after leaving Championship rivals Hull City.

But he says Eagles chairman Simon Jordan would not prevent him from carrying on with his England duties.

"Simon Jordan is very happy with it and I would like to carry on," added Taylor.