Horne dropped a huge hint England Under-21 boss Pearce would be asked to lead Britain's bid to win gold Olympics for the first time since Stockholm in 1912.

He also revealed the FA, who have been given responsibility for Team GB by the British Olympic Association (BOA), plan to appoint a manager at the end of this season.

Confirming the British side would essentially replace the England Under-21 team in the year leading up to the Games, Horne admitted that made Pearce an ideal candidate to take charge, and said: "It would be very logical.

"I suspect that what we will have to do is to substitute out the England Under-21 fixtures for this team - this hybrid team, assuming it has alternative players in it."

Pearce, the former Manchester City manager who was capped 78 times by England, has coveted the role of overseeing Britain's team at London 2012 for several years.

He was appointed as the Football Association's chief adviser on the 2012 Games three years ago and visited the 2008 Olympics in Beijing with then FA chief executive Brian Barwick on a fact-finding mission about the Olympic tournament.

Since then several other big-name British managers have been linked with the role, including Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Hodgson, Harry Redknapp and Alex McLeish.

But now it appears set to be given to 48-year-old Pearce, who was born and brought up in London.

The FA's biggest problem will be convincing the other home nations to soften their stance on the squad being made up exclusively of English players.

The governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all been vehemently opposed to players from their countries being picked, claiming it could threaten their status as individual nations within FIFA.

Horne said: "The current arrangement is that it would be an English team representing the British Isles.

"The BOA have said that is not acceptable as it stands because it is prejudicial, so we are working through an alternative selection process.

"My agenda for the next three months or so includes serious conversations with the other Home Nations about the Olympic team, because we need to get that right.

"We are all aware there are individual player issues.

"There are Home Nation sensitivities.

"So we need to work that through with the other Home Nations."


Related stories
August 2008: Pearce keen to manage British football team in 2012
May 2008: Pearce appointed as Olympic adviser by FA