Pearce: managerless England ready for Euros

England interim manager Stuart Pearce is convinced his country can thrive at Euro 2012 even though they are without a permanent boss less than two months before the tournament starts. Pearce has been England's temporary coach since Fabio Capello's resignation in February following a row with the Football Assocation over their decision to strip John Terry of the national team captaincy without consulting the Italian. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is widely regarded as the leading candidate to take over, with Newcastle boss Alan Pardew and West Bromwich Albion chief Roy Hodgson also in the running. But the FA are yet to confirm who will take charge for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine as they wait for the domestic season to draw to a close. It is even possible that Pearce will be asked to take England to Euro 2012 before returning to his role as England Under-21 manager and coach of the Great Britain men's team at the 2012 Olympics. Yet regardless of which man eventually gets the nod to lead England, Pearce believes the next boss will find all the preparatory ground-work has been laid for a successful tournament. "Whether it is me taking the squad or someone else the planning is totally done," Pearce told BBC Sport. "I think they will be quite happy with the decisions that have been made over the last few months, both started off by Fabio and continued by myself, but everything is in place, someone could just walk through the door and take the squad tomorrow. "It will be a benefit to me whichever way it falls. I'm more than happy to take both tournaments this summer, it would be a great experience for me and I'm more than happy doing both jobs." Meanwhile, London 2012 chairman Lord Coe has told Pearce he is free to pick his Great Britain squad for the Olympics purely on sporting considerations. It is has been suggested that London Games chiefs are keen for Pearce to include former Manchester United and England star David Beckham in his squad as one of the over-age players in a bid to sell more tickets for one of the few undersubscribed events. But Coe told BBC Sport: "This is absolutely for Stuart Pearce (to decide). He must pick the team on merit and whatever team Stuart picks will attract a lot of attention." Asked if it was important that the squad should feature players from all four home nations, Coe added: "If possible that's important, but again (it must be) on merit. You don't select your teams on a quota basis, you select on merit." Great Britain's men face a tough group after being drawn against Uruguay, the United Arab Emirates and Senegal. Pearce's side will kick off the tournament against Senegal at Old Trafford, Manchester, on July 26, then play the UAE at Wembley on July 29 and finish the group against Uruguay in Cardiff on August 1. Uruguay look set to provide the sternest challenge, given the possibility that they could draft in high-quality over-age players such as Liverpool's Luiz Suarez and the likes of Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani. Pearce added: "I wouldn't dismiss anyone in the group, with the addition of three over-age players it can really contribute to a strong side. It will be tough, it always is, that's tournament football. "We'll be looking forward to it and I'm sure our boys who are representing Great Britain will be looking forward to a tough tournament, but an enjoyable one."