A small group of "experienced heads" led by English Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick will pick Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor.

Barwick is to put his plan for finding the next England head coach to the board next week, and he and other senior FA figures would like to have a man in place before the World Cup.

The new England head coach's first match in charge will not be until August and although Barwick claims that time is on the FA's side, he is aware of the advantages of making an appointment sooner rather than later.

Barwick said: "We have the best part of six months in real terms because the first international after the World Cup is in mid-August.

"So in practical terms we have that long but that's not going to be the way we play it.

"Next Thursday there is an FA board meeting and the recruitment of the next England coach will be on the agenda.

"I hope to put to the board a procedure for their consideration. In the past what has been a practical way for the FA to do this is to call on some of the experienced heads around the FA, [create] a small group and with the chief executive leading to go for and find the appropriate person.

"The process won't probably be in place for a week or a fortnight and after that we do have some time to make the right call.

"We can afford to be patient and try and make the right judgement call and use the time we have in our favour."

England striker Michael Owen has admitted it would be "annoying" if England's World Cup preparations were disrupted by constant speculation about Eriksson's successor, but Barwick was confident the two issues could be kept apart.

Speaking in Montreux, Switzerland, on the eve of the 2008 European Championship draw, Barwick added: "It's easy to divorce the two. There is constant speculation because you guys [the press] will return to this subject and I fully expect, realise and respect that this is a good story.

"But I hope it won't - there's no way and reason why it should. The two things are pretty significantly divorced."

Barwick refused to be drawn on how important experience or nationality would be to selection panel.

He said: "I don't want to put together a photofit picture of the person who will be the next England coach because that will box me into a corner."