Stuart Pearce is overseeing the process of alerting 45-plus players to be on standby for Euro 2012 - but ESPNsoccernet understands this is not an indicator that he has been lined up to take the team to the tournament.
GettyImagesPearce has assumed temporary duties in lieu of a permanent appointment
Pearce is certainly available to lead England at the finals but the FA's intention of appointing a successor to Fabio Capello prior to the tournament remains on the agenda.
The stand-in coach sat the players down for a meeting when they last joined up for the Holland game to alert them to the fact that they would be on stand by for the tournament, and has not drawn up a list of all the players who have participated in England squads for "a significant period", which would mean close to 50 players being put on stand-by.
The Club England board have empowered Pearce to go through the due process of preparing for the tournament until such time as they make a permanent appointment to Capello.
The FA still plan to make that appointment, if they can, ahead of the tournament and then, as Trevor Brooking suggested recently, "parachute" the new manager straight into the finals.
Although Pearce has tinkered with Capello's training arrangements and schedule, there is plenty of flexibility for the new England anger to tamp his own preparations.
Pearce is keeping the seat warm for the new man and has held a series of meetings with Premier League managers to discuss the form and fitness of some of the players, but he has not indicated that who will be taking the squad to Poland and Ukraine, neither has he been led to believe there is a chance he may get the job as has been widely reported. If Pearce did land the job it would be because it was impossible for the FA to land their man. Harry Redknapp is still being touted as the over whelming favourite with Roy Hodgson on the list of candidates.
Sending a letter to all players who have been involved in England squads for the past 18 months is a routine practice. The FA will not make their move for Capello's successor until toward the end of the season, which means time will be tight, but far from unworkable to have their man in place to select the final squad.
Equally, the FA are not dictating whether any new manager should play 4-4-2 or any system which will be enforced upon them, as has been suggested in the English media.
The FA, though, do have a playing philosophy of wanting to adopt a passing game throughout all their teams, at every level.