TWO of the leading candidates for the vacant England post go head-to-head at the City of Manchester Stadium tomorrow, with Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce insisting his Middlesbrough counterpart Steve McClaren ticks "all the boxes" required of Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor.

Despite being a long-standing member of Eriksson's coaching team, McClaren's star has waned as a result of Boro's early-season struggles this term.

With the Teessiders tumbling down the Premiership table, the likes of Pearce, Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley leapfrogged the former Manchester United assistant in polls to find the leading domestic candidate for the role.

But, since Eriksson announced his intention to quit earlier this year, Boro have strung together a sequence of impressive results that have taken them out of relegation trouble and into the quarter-finals of both the UEFA and FA Cups.

The Riverside renaissance has also put McClaren's name back on to the agenda at Soho Square, with Pearce leading a posse of Premiership managers eager to endorse his claims.

Form is temporary but class is permanent, and the City boss feels McClaren boasts enough of the latter to make him a leading contender for the top managerial job in the country.

"For some reason, Steve seems to be out of favour with the bookmakers as far as England is concerned," said Pearce, who will be looking to atone for last season's final-day slip-up, when Mark Schwarzer's injury time penalty save from Robbie Fowler took the Teessiders into Europe instead of City, when Boro return to Eastlands tomorrow.

"But, if you sit back and look at it, he ticks a lot of boxes.

"He is an Englishman, he has worked on the inside of the England camp for a number of years and he is a club manager in the top-flight who has been successful."

McClaren's status would rise even further this month if Boro were able to keep their cup hopes alive in two crucial home games.

Basle visit the Riverside on Thursday looking to defend a two-goal advantage in their UEFA Cup quarter-final, while the following Wednesday will see Boro and Charlton play off for a place in the FA Cup's last four.

Success in either would keep the Teessiders' season alive and enable McClaren to hog the headlines while most other domestic candidates squabble for nothing more than mid-table bragging rights.

"If Middlesbrough had been on the kind of run they are now when Sven decided he wasn't carrying on, everyone would have said it was nailed on that Steve was going to take over," said Pearce. "That is how fickle the situation is with the England job.

"I respect him a lot. He has a good track record and is very well organised.

"And, if Middlesbrough keep performing as they have been, all of a sudden he will be favourite again. That is how quickly the situation can change."

Football Association officials are known to have been impressed by Middlesbrough's gradual rise through the ranks but, perhaps more significantly, they have also spoken glowingly of McClaren's ability to make the most of his club's burgeoning Academy.

While Eriksson's successor will ultimately be judged on England's performances in the 2008 European Championships, the FA are keen for him to oversee a general improvement across all of the various age groups in which the national side competes.

Last week, Middlesbrough's current England internationals posed for a photograph that underlines just how effective the club's Academy system has been.

Teenagers Lee Cattermole, James Morrison, Adam Johnson, Jason Kennedy and Matthew Bates have all graduated to play a significant role in this season's UEFA Cup campaign, while the likes of 17-year-old Seb Hines and 16-year-old Nathan Porritt are already knocking on the door of the senior side.

McClaren is understandably proud of his reputation for blooding young English talent and, while he will continue to be active in the transfer market, he can already see a day when the majority of the Middlesbrough's first team is comprised of products from the Academy.

"It's not often that a group of young players as good as this comes through," said the Boro boss.

"To have 19 players to have played for England at some level is an incredible number.

"They are the future of this club, but also the present. From the day I joined the club, I wanted to bring young players through but my mantra has always been, 'Only if they are good enough'.

"I've been playing three or four Academy players in recent first-team games and I'll be happy to play six or seven in a year or two if they are good enough.

"You say well done to them for getting this far, but I don't want them patting themselves on the back.

"I want them to strive to achieve much, much more.

"Home-grown lads play with their heart on their sleeves, they care passionately about the club. The fans take to them readily because they feel it's one of their own out there on the pitch."

Last week, Middlesbrough's current England internationals posed for a photograph that underlines just how effective the club's Academy system has been.

They are: Stewart Downing (21, left winger) - full international; Stuart Parnaby (23, right-back) - Under-21; Andrew Davies (21, centre-half) - Under-21; Andrew Taylor (19, left-back) - Under-21; Danny Graham (20, striker) - Under-20; Ross Turnbull (21, goalkeeper) - Under-20; James Morrison (19, midfield) - Under-19; Matthew Bates (19, centre-half) - Under-19; Tony McMahon (20, right-back) - Under-19; Adam Johnson (18, left winger) - Under-19; David Wheater (19, centre-half) - Under-19; David Knight (19, goalkeeper) - Under-18; Lee Cattermole (17, midfield) - Under-18; Gary Liddle (19, midfield) - Under-18; Josh Walker (17, midfield) - Under-17; Seb Hines (17, centre-half) - Under-17; Nathan Porritt (16, left winger) - Under-17; Jonathan Franks (15, right winger) - Under-16; Jason Steele (15, goalkeeper) - Under-16.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.