ENGLAND'S new football coach fought off a challenge from Swin-don youngsters before landing his dream job.

Sven Goran Eriksson may have been the FA's choice to lead Eng-land's World Cup bid, but 25 Churchfields School pupils made sure there was plenty of competition for the current Lazio boss.

And their effort to land a top football job didn't end there they also applied for the then vacant manager's chair at Swindon town.

The pupils drafted letters to the FA for the England job as part of their English studies, outlining why they would be particularly suited to the role.

To their astonishment, each received a personal reply from Adam Crozier, the chief executive of the FA. Each letter laid out the skills required for the role and politely informed the applicant that they had not made the final shortlist of three believed to have been Eriksson, Roy Hodgson and Arsene Wenger.

Teacher Dave Phillips said: "I can't say I was surprised the FA replied. It is good public relations. It was good that each of them received an individual letter at home on official FA note paper."

Mr Phillips said the exercise had been extremely useful, although he doubted any of them were quite ready to lead England to World Cup glory.

An FA spokeswoman said: "The job eventually went to Sven but all those who applied for the post received a reply. I am pleased to hear the children appreciated it."

The pursuit of football management did not end there. Far from being deterred, the children then turned their attention to the then vacant manager's chair at Swindon Town.

With the acrimonious departure of Colin Todd, the youngsters saw their opportunity and put pen to paper once again.

The club was faced with a difficult task in choosing a successor.

Andy King proved to be the chairman's choice but his application was not necessarily the most eye-catching.

Eleven-year-old Jennifer Neal was delighted to receive the FA response and then a glowing reply from Town chairman Terry Brady.

Jennifer, of Park South, said: "I was really excited to get replies. It was quite a long time before I got a reply about the England job. We thought the FA had probably thrown the letters in the bin."

Mr Brady's reply said Jennifer's application had been the most 'interesting' and her reward was an invitation to visit the County Ground and meet the players.

Town chief executive Peter Rowe said: "Everyone in the office was warmed by the applications. We were delighted the vacancy had attracted such interest from the youngsters."