Jose Mourinho wants to do the England job from his home - in Portugal.

The former Chelsea boss is ready to consider taking the England role but only on his terms, which also include being the highest-paid manager in the world.

Mourinho, 44, wants a £6m-ayear salary and also believes he could still spend much of his time in his native country.

It has left the Football Association fearing it is another sign that Mourinho does not really want to become Steve McClaren's successor and is holding out for a top club such as Real Madrid.

Mourinho was still in Portugal yesterday after revealing he had cancelled plans to fly to London because he did not want his trip to heighten speculation about his future.

Mourinho is on the FA's shortlist along with Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, Jurgen Klinsmann and Martin O'Neill.

The FA have made contact with advisers to all the candidates, including Mourinho's adviser Jorge Mendes with the FA wishing to make sure they are not being used to generate interest from the likes of Madrid and AC Milan. The FA have yet to finalise any formal talks with any candidates, although chief executive Brian Barwick wants a manager in place by Christmas.

Although Mourinho remains the bookies' favourite, there appears to be a move towards Lippi, who guided Italy to their 2006 World Cup triumph and is a close friend of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Capello, too, whose English is understood to be better than has been suggested, has strong supporters, and a wealth of experience, with both Italians likely to be more easy for the FA to handle than the mercurial Mourinho.

Barwick and his lieutenant, the FA's director of corporate affairs Simon Johnson, don't want to be left in the lurch by the man the chief executive and Sir Trevor Brooking recommend on December 19.

After completing the consultation process he embarked on in the immediate aftermath of McClaren's sacking, Barwick has now narrowed down the field to the foreign quartet plus O'Neill. The next stage is ensuring that the FA will not be left red-faced again by being rejected by the chosen candidate, as they were when Luis Felipe Scolari led Barwick up the garden path 20 months ago.

Barwick plans to confirm his final choice by the middle of next week, before entering negotiations over contract terms and conditions.

The chief executive wants to be able to make a recommendation to the board in the knowledge that a deal is effectively already done, with only formal signatures to be obtained.


Jose Mourinho, still in Portugal, is embarrassed by stories that he had jetted into London