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Collingwood Claims England Have Potential

Collingwood U-turn Over Retirement Plans

Paul Collingwood believes whoever takes charge of the England team will have a promising squad at his disposal as he begins the rebuilding process.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has started interviewing the candidates to replace Andy Flower, who stepped down as head coach after this winter's Ashes whitewash by Australia.

A three-man panel, consisting of ECB chief executive Paul Downton, David Collier and Gordon Lord, will interview the five men reported to be in the frame for the job.

The five are Ashley Giles, England's current one-day and T20 coach, Lancashire coach Peter Moores, Sussex coach Mark Robinson, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket Mike Newell and Australian Trevor Bayliss, a former coach of Sri Lanka.

Durham captain Collingwood worked alongside Giles in the West Indies and at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh this winter and was encouraged by what he saw despite England's early exit from the T20 competition and the humbling defeat to the Netherlands.

Collingwood told Sky Sports News "It's been a tough winter and that's going to challenge you mentally; the confidence levels and all that kind sort of stuff.

"But I have to say the work ethic was fantastic from the boys out there. I guess when you have been beaten by the Netherlands everybody looks at the emotional side and says 'look that's not good enough'.

"It isn't good enough, of course, losing against the Netherlands. But we did a lot of good things on the run up to that, beating Sri Lanka as well - the only side to beat them - and I don't think we are far away.

"Whoever takes the job on; it's pretty much exciting times, because the potential how far that side can go is very, very high."