The Football Association want to achieve more than simply recruiting a new England manager in the wake of Fabio Capello’s shock exit.
It does appear to be just a case of when, rather than if, Tottenham will be approached to release Harry Redknapp from the remaining 15 months of his contract.
The Londoner will then be expected to deliver some silverware, just like every other England boss that has followed World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsey.
And the chances are he will fail, given Spain, Holland and Germany must be overcome at Euro 2012, and Brazil will be overwhelming favourites when they host the World Cup two years later.
It is the reason why the four-man Club England board are looking at a far broader change than merely the man who steps into Capello’s shoes.
“Let’s have some reality,” said Club England managing director Adrian Bevington.
“Do you know what our record is in tournaments?
“It is not a case of one bad tournament in South Africa. How many good tournaments have we had in England’s history since 1950?
“We have a responsibility, as a national association, to put the right structure in place to let the coaches, across all our teams, reach finals, get the players selected and give the senior manager the best chance of getting more and better players coming through with experience that allows them to compete in the latter stages of finals.
“We must have a really sensible, grown-up objective about that.”
It is why so much of virtually 90 minutes spent at Wembley on Thursday, explaining to the media how the FA ended up managerless and without a captain, were spent emphasising the seemingly insignificant points about the new training hub at St George’s Park in Burton.
“We have to talk long term,” said Bevington.
“We must stop bouncing from one tournament to another, apologising for not going past the quarter-finals.
“We have only done that three times in our history.
“What gives us the right to say we are going there expecting to win tournaments?”
This time around, England do have options when selecting their coach.
Redknapp is clearly the preferred option. But few could quibble at Roy Hodgson’s experience, while both Stuart Pearce and Gareth Southgate are former internationals of some standing who have become part of the FA fabric.
Alan Pardew heads the list of those without Champions League experience or the joy of winning a major trophy, which was the pile Steve McClaren, one League Cup excepting, came from when he took over in 2006.
That Sven-Goran Eriksson and Capello were needed either side of the McClaren debacle – at a total cost of STG50 million ($A73.71 million) – merely emphasises the desperate need for better English coaches, which must emerge from a more professional attitude to the whole system of qualifications.
“St George’s Park has to be a really serious coaching facility,” said Bevington.
“We also have to ensure everyone is taking coaching qualifications seriously as a profession.
“They are not badges. They are coaching qualifications.
“In every other major footballing nation, players aspire to achieve footballing qualifications when they retire if they want to go into management.
“We want to create a professional culture in that area.”
To that end, it is vital that the League Managers’ Association will also be based in Burton, helping to provide an even closer working relationship with the national association, from which, over time, all should benefit.
“We are working very closely with the LMA who will be fellow tenants at St George’s Park,” said Bevington.
“This is a key area of development.
“We must get into a situation where we have more talent available when we go out to select future England team managers.”