Rio Ferdinand throws his hat into the ring for the England job

As the FA deliberate over the successor to Roy Hodgson, an unlikely contender has emerged.

Rio Ferdinand opted for punditry over coaching in the immediate aftermath of his retirement, but the former defender seems to fancy himself as the next England boss.

Speaking to Copa90, the former West Ham and Manchester United defender laid out what he believes Hodgson got wrong at Euro 2016.

“When you don’t know your starting XI when you get to the tournament, and you don’t know your best formation, there’s a problem,” he said.

“If you don’t know your structure, your identity, your philosophy…how are the players meant to actually be able to perform?”

England were eliminated in the last 16 by Iceland, a team who performed better than the sum of their parts, and Ferdinand said. “Individuals can only perform to their greatest ability when the platform at the bottom is set.

“When a player is not performing too well as an individual, he can fall back on that platform of the structure, the team the unity. And that’s why I should be manager.”

At the time of writing, Ferdinand is 100/1 to be appointed as England’s next manager. Sam Allardyce is the current favourite, and is thought to have already been interviewed for the position.