England FA have commenced their negotiations with Charlton boss Alan Curbishley and Bolton Wanderers coach Sam Allardyce at the beginning of their hunt to appoint a new England head coach.

“It is accurate that we have met with Charlton manager Alan Curbishley. We made it very clear three weeks ago that once the Uruguay game had taken place Brian Barwick would begin the process of recruiting the next England manager,” FA communications director Adrian Bevington told The News of the World on Sunday.

“We stated at the time that this would involve speaking to numerous individuals, including potential candidates, and that process is now up and running.

“The FA remains committed to appointing a manager before the World Cup — that’s our sole timetable. But until significant progress is made we believe strongly that the process must be conducted in private,” Bevington added.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick had reportedly met with Allardyce and Curbishley last week secretly to discuss the possibility of one of them succeeding Swede boss Sven-Goran Eriksson after the World Cup in Germany that will kick off on June ninth.

“It should be noted, however, that the FA would only approach managers to discuss the role after permission had been received from their clubs,” Bevington insisted.