STUART Pearce has written off his chances of being next in line to England boss Fabio Capello after revealing how his work with the Italian left him feeling ‘‘inept’’.

Pearce has enhanced his reputation by assisting Capello and taking the Under-21s to the semi-finals of the European Championships in Sweden – with a Group B clash against Germany to spare – but he still feels he is learning his trade.

The role has led to suggestions Pearce is being groomed as a future England manager, although the 47-year-old believes he needs more managerial experience than a short stint at Nottingham Forest, two years with Manchester City and another two with the Under-21s.

‘‘The England manager’s job is the pinnacle of anyone’s career,’’ Pearce said. ‘‘When I look at Fabio every day and watch him work, I realise how inept I am as a manager.

‘‘I’m a manager that has been in control of a team for maybe 150 matches over a four-year period.

‘‘For me, that is ridiculously lightly raced as a manager.

Very lightly experienced. I feel I have many years in front of me where I have to gain experience as a manager.’’ Pearce knows perception is almost as important as experience in the managerial world. His stock is high at the moment and he has a verbal agreement to stick with the Under-21s until 2011.

Victories over Finland and Spain mean the intense rivalry with Germany will be the most important factor tonight in Halmstad.

‘‘It’s how fickle we are in football that maybe two years ago as Manchester City manager I was written off,’’ Pearce said. ‘‘Two years down the line I’m written back on again. If I lose the semi-final I’ll be written back off again.

‘‘I’ve got a long-term plan that I keep to myself. The one thing I can tell you is that today I haven’t got enough experience by any means.

‘‘There is a better manager to come from me. I’ll be a better manager tomorrow morning than I am today and I’ll keep improving.’’ Facing Germany is part of Pearce’s learning curve. As a player he was up against them at the 1990 World Cup and Euro ‘96, losing on penalties each time. His history against Germany, scoring a spot-kick at Wembley and missing one in Italy, means there is plenty of personal pride at stake at Orjans Vall. The Germans, meanwhile, need a point to seal a place in the semi-finals.

‘‘When you look at the international calendar, England against Germany is a big, big fixture,’’ Pearce said. ‘‘Our proudest moment as a nation was when we won the World Cup against Germany many many years ago.

‘‘We have to make sure some of our better memories against Germany are when we are winning games and tournaments.

I have lost two major semi-finals to very good German sides. I can’t do much about that now. My squad can do something about it when we play them again.’’ Pearce does not want to lose momentum heading into the semi-finals but he also wants to protect players from suspension and give fringe players a run-out.

Micah Richards has a knee problem and Gabriel Agbonlahor’s calves are tight so they are unlikely to be risked, with Jack Rodwell and Fraizer Campbell in the frame to step in. Campbell, as a substitute in the two games so far, netting against Spain.

He said: ‘‘It’s been a good tournament so far. I’ve come on in both games and we’ve won them both. We could do better and there is a lot more to come from us.

‘‘Hopefully we can peak at the right time. None of the players would allow us to take it easy against Germany just because we have qualified for the semis.’’