Mourinho out of England running

Mourinho guided Chelsea to two Premier League titles

Jose Mourinho has ruled himself out of the running to become England coach.

The former Chelsea boss revealed he had held talks with the Football Association following Steve McClaren's dismissal last month.

But in a statement on his agent's website, Mourinho said: "After serious thought, I decided to exclude myself despite it being a fantastic position.

"I'm sure the FA will hire a great manager, one able to place the team back where it belongs."

Mourinho said he had had "useful discussions" with the FA's chief executive Brian Barwick and director of football Trevor Brooking.

606: DEBATE He's a manager that likes to work with his team everyday and international football wouldn't have given him that ronavidiggs

He said: "We exchanged ideas to evaluate the entire situation about the England squad and set the goals in case of a real approach."

After revealing he had opted against putting himself forward as a candidate, Mourinho said: "I reiterate my respect for English football and, after three good years in England, I firmly believe that the England squad will soon be back to their usual great results."

Mourinho emerged as the strong favourite for the England post following McClaren's departure.

BBC Radio 5 Live football correspondent Mike Ingham said: "In many ways he would have been perfect.

"The job is about giving players an extra 10% and I think he would have done that.

"Mourinho ticked all the boxes bar one - I'm not sure how much of a diplomat he would have been."

The Portuguese coach's announcement on Monday will be a blow to FA officials, who were turned down by their first-choice candidate the last time they were recruiting an England manager.

On that occasion, Portugal manager Luis Felipe Scolari rejected the chance to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson and the FA instead turned to McClaren.

Italian coaches Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi now head the list of contenders - although BBC Sport has established that neither man has been contacted by the FA.

Former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann has been tipped as an "ideal" replacement by Franz Beckenbauer, but has so far made no expression of interest in the job.

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill continues to be linked with the job, despite publicly ruling himself out.

The FA is reported to want to name its new coach by 19 December, although England do not have a fixture until 6 February when they will play Switzerland in a friendly, and the next competitive fixture will be a World Cup qualifier next September.