Gareth Southgate has decided to stay on as England manager, putting an end to speculation about his long-term future following the Three Lions’ World Cup exit.
Gareth Southgate has decided to stay on as England’s manager, putting an end to speculation about his long-term future.
The Three Lions manager, 52, has been in charge for over six years but has refused to say whether he will stay after England were eliminated in the World Cup quarter-finals by France.
Despite leading England to a World Cup semi-final and the final of last year’s postponed European Championship, Southgate has been heavily chastised by sections of England’s fan base for poor results leading up to the tournament. The former Middlesbrough manager has also been criticized for being overly pragmatic. Southgate is said to have decided to resign as England manager after the World Cup, and the FA was afraid of losing him.
But Southgate made no secret of his enjoyment of the Qatar campaign, and the fans rallied behind him, and the England manager appears to have been won back around from a position where those close to him thought he was certain to leave.
Southgate now wants to give it another go and lead England to the next Euros, believing that the squad is young enough to realize their potential as trophy winners in the coming tournaments.
There was also a sense that Southgate would not want to leave the FA in the lurch with no obvious replacement lined up. The FA did not want to bring in a new coach, and Southgate’s retention is a huge boost to their vision for the England team.
“I’ve found large parts of the last 18 months difficult,” Southgate said last weekend. “For everything I’ve enjoyed in the last few weeks, I still have how things have been for the last 18 months.” What has been said and written about the night in Wolves [when England lost 4-0 to Hungary]. There are a lot of things in my head that are really conflicted right now, so I want to make sure that if it’s the right thing to stay, I definitely have the energy to do it.”
Southgate was set to make a decision on his future in the New Year, according to reports earlier this week, after taking time to evaluate his tenure following England’s World Cup exit.
Following England’s defeat by France last weekend, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, and Eddie Howe were all linked with the job. But, after pushing the defending champions all the way in Qatar, Southgate will try to go one step further at Euro 2024.