Sammy shown the door
SAMMY LEE has left his England assistant coach role as manager Gareth Southgate begins building his own backroom team.
Lee was drafted in as right-hand man to Sam Allardyce.
Southgate retained Lee’s services during his fourgame interim spell but, having secured a four-year permanent contract, is looking for fresh ideas.
Lee is the second Allardyce appointee, after Leicester coach Craig Shakespeare, to be moved on by Southgate. The future of a third, goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson, is yet to be confirmed.
“I felt it was important to bring in my own support team and Sammy fully respected that,” said Southgate.
“I was grateful with the way he helped steady the ship throughout October and November.”
Southgate wants Chelsea coach Steve Holland to be his full-time No2, but that is complicated somewhat by the Blues’ title bid. Holland has worked alongside Southgate at Under-21 and senior level on a job-split basis but is understood to favour a permanent role with the national side.
Southgate is interested in using the experience of recent internationals, with former England skipper Steven Gerrard an obvious choice, though ad-hoc secondments for such figures may be likelier than long-term positions.