PETER VARNEY, Charlton’s chief executive, has assured supporters that the club are not sitting by idly waiting for the Football Association to decide whether or not they want Alan Curbishley to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson as England coach.

As speculation over the England job – and indeed Curbishley’s own future at The Valley – intensified Mr Varney stressed: "We are not sitting on our hands waiting for the England decision to be made.

"We are active in drawing up a short-list of possible replacements, which is of course what any sensible business should do, and Alan is fully aware of what is going on. This is a football club that will be very attractive to many coaches.

"And while the media likes to focus on one person, there are still an important number of people at the club who have also played their part in its reconstruction, including Richard Murray and his fellow directors who have provided the vision and strategy and ploughed millions of pounds through a significant number of share issues to finance player acquisitions and stadium improvements – and they aren’t going anywhere."

Mr Varney also offered an insight into why he believes the FA are reluctant to get a move on.

He said: "I believe they are double checking all the candidates’ credentials because they cannot afford to make a mistake. That’s why they are looking into each background in a way they would not have done previously."

Curbishley, who declined to answer questions on the subject of the England job after the 2-1 defeat of Portsmouth, would not say whether he is assisting the board in drawing up a list of potential successors.

"Everything is very bizarre," was all he would say.

The Charlton board are thought to be scrutinising the credentials of Steve Coppell, who has just taken Reading to promotion, Colchester boss Phil Parkinson, Dave Jones, now in charge of Cardiff, and former England boss Glenn Hoddle, who is expected to leave Wolves at the season’s end.

Watford boss Adrian Boothroyd and Brentford’s Martin Allen are other possibilities.