London, April 23:

West Brom manager and former-England captain Bryan Robson claimed on Sunday that Real Madrid star David Beckham is too weak to captain the national side and should be replaced for the World Cup.

Robson believes Beckham is not a natural leader and that Chelsea’s John Terry or Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard would do a better job.

“As for the England captaincy, David Beckham would not have been my choice. He hasn’t done a bad job and he has matured, but he’s not a natural leader on the pitch,” he said. “Steven Gerrard and John Terry are more natural leaders and have the aggression that most managers like in a captain. To my mind, Terry has probably edged ahead of Gerrard as the best choice”.

“He leads by example, is an excellent organiser and has the presence that everyone in the team will respect.

“He also scores goals which is a great bonus for a defender.” Robson also believes an Englishman should be appointed to manage the national team following the departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson. “I would have no great objection to the appointment of a foreign manager if we had no Englishman good enough to do the job of managing the national team, but I believe we have coaches who are more than capable.