England are caught in the clamour to appoint a foreign coach as they study a lack of potential home-grown successors to Kevin Keegan.

English coaches are invariably limited in their international football experience and are under-qualified compared to their foreign counterparts.

And yet one factor that may hold back this revolutionary appointment may be fears about the ability of foreign coaches to tap in to the unique English football mentality.

The FA's fears may be close to being dispelled, however, after they study the success stories of the Premier League in recent seasons.

And the success of foreign coaches is no accident when the schooling system on the continent is put under the microscope.

FA coaching badges can be picked up in a fraction of the time it takes to reach the top level on the Continent, where football people inevitably become more deeply versed in styles of play, training and tactics - areas where Keegan acknowledged he had major shortcomings.

The path has already been forged in the last few years by respected managers such as Gianluca Vialli at Chelsea, Gerard Houllier at Liverpool and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

They have demonstrated how intelligence and football learning can be translated into a different language and a different league.

Adapt

After all, these managers were having to adapt to a style of play in the Premiership which is far removed from the shorter passing game favoured in most European leagues, but they were able to do so while improving the team with some of their own ideas.

It can also be argued that they improved the sum total of their players' ability by teaching them about different systems, tactical changes or new forms of training.

Certainly, the vast majority of those who have played under Wenger at Highbury would say that his instruction has made them better players.