NEWCASTLE United First Team Coach Nigel Pearson is to assist Stuart Pearce with England U21s for the friendly match against Spain next week and for the UEFA U21 Championships this summer, the FA has confirmed.
Arrangements for a friendly fixture in March are to be finalised, but it has been agreed that former Toon defender Pearce will not be involved for this game.
The FA's director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking said: "We are very grateful to Manchester City and Newcastle United for their help and support.
"We are delighted that Stuart and Nigel have agreed to coach the U21s.
"We're very pleased Stuart will take the team against Spain so that he can get to know the players. However, we also realise that as manager of Manchester City he must then give his full focus to the club until the end of the season.
"Stuart has huge international experience as a player and has already shown at Manchester City that he is a talented young manager.
"He has completed all his coaching courses with The FA right through to the UEFA Pro Licence as has Nigel Pearson. Nigel also has the invaluable experience of having worked with and managing our England youth teams before."
"I would like to pay tribute to Peter Taylor for his fantastic work with the U21s over the last couple of seasons. He has done a superb job culminating in qualifying for the European Championships. Peter has made it clear that due to his club commitments at Crystal Palace he is unable to continue in his role with the U21s.
"I also want to thank Sammy Lee for stepping in to take the team for the friendly in Holland in November. Sammy has club commitments with Bolton and made it clear at the time of the Holland match that he was filling the position on a one-off basis. We wish both Peter and Sammy all the best for the future.
"Peter's decision does give us a great opportunity to bring in Stuart and Nigel to work on a major international tournament. It will be a fantastic experience for them in their development as coaches and I'm confident that they will be a very strong management team to bring the best out of the talented young players we will be taking to Holland in June.
Stuart Pearce said: "It is a fantastic honour for me. I was planning to attend the June tournament for scouting purposes and now I will have an opportunity of getting more out of the competition by working with the best youngsters in this country and pitting my wits against coaches from different nations."
Pearce earned 78 caps for England between 1987 and 1999. He had a short spell as caretaker manager at Nottingham Forest in the 1996-97 season. Pearce joined the coaching staff at Manchester City in 2002 becoming caretaker manager in March 2005. He was formally appointed as manager in May 2005.
Pearce's first game with the U21s will be a friendly against Spain at Derby County's Pride Park on Tuesday 6 February. Pearce will not coach any further friendly fixtures during the club season but will take charge of the squad for the eight-team European U21 Championship which will be held in Holland from 10 June to 23 June.
Nigel Pearson is assistant manager at Newcastle United. Nigel was a full-time member of the national coaching set-up at The FA from 2002 to 2004 after a period working as a part-time coach.
During this period he was involved with every England youth team from the U16s to the U20s. Pearson has also managed Carlisle United and, prior to joining Newcastle, was assistant manager to Bryan Robson at West Bromwich Albion.
