Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew would like to lead England later in his career, but fully supports the idea of Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp succeeding Fabio Capello after Euro 2012.
The former Reading, West Ham United, Charlton Athletic and Southampton boss arrived on Tyneside in December 2010 amid a storm after owner Mike Ashley's controversial axing of Chris Hughton.
Hughton, now in charge of Birmingham City, had managed the Magpies to the Championship title and promotion back to to the top flight at the first attempt, before steering them to the mid-table position of 12th in the Premier League before being sacked.
However, Pardew has since won over the frenetic St James' Park faithful.
After maintaining the 12th-place position - finishing seven points above the drop zone - he has overseen the Toon's stellar start to 2011/12, going unbeaten for the first 11 league games.
United currently sit sixth, four points off Champions League qualification, and have signalled their ambition by signing Freiburg striker Papiss Cisse to partner Senegalese compatriot Demba Ba in attack for the second half of the season.
And the Wimbledon-born 50-year-old, speaking exclusively in the February 2012 issue of FourFourTwo magazine, says bringing European football back to the north-east giants is one of his aims. But more importantly, he wants to end their 57-year wait for a domestic trophy.
"Getting a trophy is my ultimate goal. European football would be deemed a success, and then, within the contract I've got, a year when we bring Champions League football back to Tyneside. That extra £40 million from the group phase can transform your team," he says.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
The former Crystal Palace, Charlton and Barnet midfielder has since been touted as a future manager of England, with Spurs supremo Redknapp the bookmakers' favourite to replace Capello when his contract ends after this summer's European Championships.
Pardew admits that the prospect of leading his country appeals to him, but is fully behind the thought of Redknapp being next in the hot seat.
"I want to be at the top of my profession. I'd like to expand myself and manage overseas, but ultimately, would I like to be England manager at some stage if I was lucky enough to be asked? Yes," he says.
"Right now I'm fully behind Harry Redknapp. I hope he gets it - he would understand that role. He is experienced enough and has the motivational devices to succeed. Hopefully I'll get myself into a position where I'm experienced enough to be able to do that."
Read the full interview with Alan Pardew, in which he talks about Andy Carroll's move to Liverpool, tough times at Southampton and his relationship with Mike Ashley, in theFebruary 2012 issue of FourFourTwo magazine.
It also asks 'What now? for Sir Alex Ferguson and features transsexual internationals, football's biggest con-man, the death of the tackle and a 23-page guide to the Africa Cup of Nations. Subscribe now!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
