FORMER England manager Sir Bobby Robson feels Charlton's Alan Curbishley is the man to take over from Sven Goran-Ericksson after this summer's World Cup finals.

In talking up Curbishley's prospects of succeeding Ericksson, Robson said: "There are several good candidates.

"But I regard Alan Curbishley as the best equipped to deal with the pressures of running a top international side.

"He is the longest-serving manager at a Premiership club after Sir Alex Ferguson and has proved himself over 15 years at The Valley, four of them as joint manager and 11 in sole charge.

"In that time he has shown consistently that he knows how to create a team, work with administrators and directors, and handle big players - all of which you need for the England job. He has done it through skill and intelligence on a low budget, just as I did at Ipswich."