Southgate edges closer to becoming England’s boss

RED TAPE appears to be all that is keeping Gareth Southgate away from being named as the next permanent England manager after he emerged from a marathon interview at St George’s Park as the FA’s preferred candidate.

Despite the disappointing late capitulation against Spain, the rise in England performance levels under his caretaker spell in charge had already put him in the driving seat as Howard Wilkinson and Graeme Le Saux joined Martin Glenn, Dan Ashworth and Greg Clarke in identifying the nation’s third England manager in five months.

The feeling going into today’s planned de-briefing session at St George’s Park was that the position was Gareth South- gate’s to lose and that provided the future he outlined was well-received, then there would be no need even to interview other candidates.

That meeting lasted several hours, but Southgate appears to have emerged with his reputation intact, although part of the meeting is understood to have involved the thorny issue of player discipline after Wayne Rooney, Phil Jagielka, Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson – four of the most senior players in the England set-up – all made negative headlines during his spell in charge.

Although Southgate’s £1.5m-a-year salary is another large drop following the steadily diminishing pay-packets of, in turn, Fabio Capello, Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce, success will be rewarded hugely with FA chief executive Glenn a huge proponent of performance-related pay.

The five-man panel are keeping quiet about their response to Southgate’s interview, although it seems that a man who impressed with his handling of dropping Rooney in Slovenia again did not put a foot wrong when confronted with a potentially awkward situation.

Even if the verdict is positive, Southgate will have to wait until a full FA Board meeting planned for November 30 for full approval to be given – although there is little to suggest that there will be any challenge to Glenn’s recommendation. – Express Newspapers