Mourinho won two Premier League titles with Chelsea

Mourinho, 44, has been out of football since leaving Stamford Bridge in September but is believed to be waiting for a club rather than a national post.

Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill, Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce and West Ham's Alan Curbishley have all said they are committed to their clubs.

But ex-Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello is interested.

Interview Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp

And Portsmouth's Harry Redknapp has not ruled himself out.

I've got a massive job at Reading, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm very happy with that Reading manager Steve Coppell

Radio 5 Live's football correspondent Jonathan Legard said: "Mourinho is apparently champing at the bit to return to football management.

"But not for a job, however lucrative and high profile, that only allows him to do what he does so well - working with players - a couple of times every few months.

"He's like a lion in a cage, I was told, but a national job, even such a special post like England, would only appeal at a later stage in his career and the chances are even then that would only be the Portugal job.

"Far more attractive for the former Chelsea title winner at the moment is a top European club vacancy and as he waits for that, so the FA must come to terms with the size of their task."

The Football Association's chief executive Brian Barwick has begun his search for a replacement for McClaren, who was sacked on Thursday after England failed to reach Euro 2008.

606: DEBATE Who do you want to be England manager?

England's next scheduled match is a friendly against France in Paris on 26 March, although there is a date available in February to arrange another fixture if required.

The next competitive match will be the opening encounter of the 2010 World Cup campaign in September, with the draw for the qualifying groups taking place on Sunday.