Paul Farbrace says England job would be hard to turn down

Paul Farbrace coached Sri Lanka between December 2013 and April 2014 before joining the England staff

England caretaker-coach Paul Farbrace says he would find it "hard to say no" if he was offered the job on a permanent basis.

Farbrace, 47, will take charge of the team for the two-Test series against New Zealand, which starts on Thursday.

"I'll give this opportunity a really good go, and if at the end something happens, then great," said Farbrace.

Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie is among the other contenders to succeed Peter Moores, who was sacked.

The former Australia fast bowler, mentioned as a candidate by new England cricket director Andrew Strauss, told BBC Sport on Tuesday he would "take persuading" to leave Yorkshire.

But the 40-year-old admitted being linked with the England job was "very humbling, very flattering".

England will be without batsman Kevin Pietersen, who has been told he will not be available for selection, despite scoring 355 not out for Surrey against Leicestershire in a County Championship match last week.

After Farbrace said he would be interested in the role full-time, Pietersen wrote on BreatheSport: "He might be the only one who will want a team that's not allowed to be at full strength."

Farbrace, who coached Sri Lanka between December 2013 and April 2014 before becoming Moores's assistant, said England need to improve after drawing their last Test series against West Indies.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live's Tuffers and Vaughan Show, he said: "We know we need to play better and finish games off. The Caribbean series was a prime case in point.

"At no stage have we hidden away or made excuses. We have a good group of players and we feel there are exciting times ahead."

Farbrace, who kept wicket for Kent and Middlesex during an eight-year first-class career, admitted to sympathy for Moores but endorsed the credentials of Gillespie, with whom he worked at Yorkshire as second XI coach before taking the Sri Lanka job.

"We were all very disappointed to see Peter move on, he was very popular," he said.

"Jason Gillespie is a brilliant guy, he's done a great job at Yorkshire. He's a very good manager of people, he keeps it very simple and he keeps the game in perspective."