Promising Kidd joins England

Part-time role
The Leeds United AFC first team coach will be employed on a part-time basis to replace Steve McClaren who has decided to dedicate all of his time to his job as manager of Middlesbrough FC.

New challenge
Kidd, who was Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United FC before spending a short spell as manager of Blackburn Rovers FC, will join the England team as they prepare for their forthcoming friendly game against Australia at Upton Park on 12 February. "He is a very good coach first and foremost," said Eriksson. "Brian already has international experience and that made him an ideal candidate. Secondly, he knows more than half of the players in the squad and is very popular among the players."

Quick appointment
"It has all happened in the last couple of days," added Kidd, insisting that his new role would not affect his work with former England manager Terry Venables at Leeds. "Terry Venables has been extremely supportive so, as soon as I got the green light from him, it all went from there.

'A wonderful experience'
"Mr Eriksson is without a doubt one of the motivating factors," added Kidd. "Working with him, Tord Grip, Sammy Lee, Dave Sexton, Ray Clemence and the rest of the coaching staff will be a wonderful experience for me. You learn in football every day and this is a great opportunity in terms of my personal development as well as chance for me to contribute to my country."

Eriksson gets his man
Acting Football Association chief executive David Davies revealed that Kidd had been Eriksson's first choice as his assistant, saying: "We are extremely grateful for the support that we have received from both Terry Venables and in particular [chairman] Peter Ridsdale at Leeds from the moment we approached them. He is the man that Sven wanted and, thanks to Leeds, he is the person that we have secured. I hope and expect it to be a long-term relationship."