Sven-Göran Eriksson became England’s first foreign manager in 2001, while the appointment of Englishman Steve McClaren as his successor was a complete disaster.

"We have devalued the English coaching system by saying that there are no Englishmen capable of coaching the national team," Hodgson told The Times. "

"That our coaching set-up is so poor that we must find someone from abroad.

"When I was at Blackburn [1997-98] there was some talk that the German national team wanted me as coach, but that was crushed almost immediately at the top because they said it would totally devalue the German licensing system."

Hodgson's remarks reignite the debate on the current state of the English coaching system, with many critics claiming the country are years behind the rest of Europe in educating the next generation of managers.

The 62-year-old Cottagers chief, who has managed in eight countries including Italy, Denmark and Norway, has also questioned the value the FA coaching badges currently hold in world football.

"The fact that you were FA-qualified and given a seal of approval by the top FA people, as I was, that was enough to put you at the forefront of the candidates for the job.

"Whether that's still the case, I'm not so sure."