The Football Association has confirmed England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce will work alongside Fabio Capello in a role for the senior team.

The former Manchester City manager will remain in charge of the U-21s but will be expected to juggle those responsibilities with assisting the Italian tactician, starting with next week's friendly against Switzerland.

Capello told the FA's official website: "From the start I made it clear to everyone that I wanted an English coach as part of my coaching team. I have spoken with Trevor Brooking and Stuart Pearce about this at length and I'm very happy that Stuart is working with me.

"This is very important as Stuart has a lot of experience and understanding of English football. He understands what I am looking to achieve and how I want to work.

"I believe it is crucial that both of us have a close working partnership to get the best for both the England team and U-21s.

"As well as being involved in all of the planning ahead of games, he will sit next to me on the bench during the matches and have a key position around the team."

"There will also be opportunities at the end of the season when the U-21s and seniors are not playing at the same time when Stuart can be with us at all times. This is very good because I want to him to play an important role in the coaching sessions with Italo Galbiati and myself."

Pearce said: "It will be a fantastic opportunity and a great education for me to work with Fabio Capello and the England senior team.

"My main focus will still be on the U-21s. We have an important qualifier on Tuesday [against the Republic of Ireland] and I will continue to be with that squad as we work towards reaching the U-21 European Championship in summer 2009.

"Once U-21 games have been played I'm looking forward to being involved with the senior team as much as possible and the friendlies at the end of the season will give me a great opportunity to work with Fabio and his coaching team."

Mike Hytner / Eurosport