BULLETPROOF
Southgate keeps job even if he flops at World Cup, say FA
GARETH SOUTHGATE will keep his job as manager even if his England team lose all three World Cup group games in Russia next year.
There would be a national outcry were England to suffer a third successive major tournament humiliation at the hands of Group G opponents Tunisia, Panama and Belgium.
But FA chief executive Martin Glenn gave Southgate that extraordinary vote of confidence about his future after a World Cup draw in Moscow that delivered a relatively easy path to the knockout stages.
And such is Glenn’s desire for continuity around the national team that he talked about Southgate still being in charge for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar although his current contract — understood to be £2.5million a year plus incentivised bonuses — only runs until the European Championship in 2020.
Glenn said: ‘No-one wants to have a bad World Cup and longterm plans are hard to defend when short- term results go against you. But we’re confident Gareth is the right guy to take us through for the next few tournaments.
‘We want Gareth there to build for the long term. The World Cup is a really important staging post for our development. We go out there wanting to win but also being realistic.’
The knowledge that his job is not on the line has given Southgate the platform to blood
young players in the senior team with the view to a future after Russia next summer. It’s a strategy wholly supported by Glenn.
‘Gareth has a long-term contract,’ said Glenn. ‘He’s not looking at Russia as a free pass; he wants to go out there and win.
‘But we’re going to do it in a way that is sustainable. So, we’re going to make sure that we’re picking the kind of players that can do their best in Russia and continue to kick on in 2020 and 2022.’
The England World Cup victories at Under 17 and Under 20 level have also given the FA major optimism about a bright future under Southgate’s command even if Russia doesn’t go according to plan.
Glenn said: ‘What we’re doing is making sure that the players that have made it through to the first team by 21, 22 have had lots and lots of tournament experience.
‘So those Under 17 winners and Under 20 winners will be coming through and they are serious, serious competitions to win. We know that worked for the Germans and we know that worked for the Spanish. So, we’re just repeating things they’ve done with our own emphasis on it.’
Meanwhile, Southgate’s preparations for Russia will include talking to the so- called ‘golden generation’ to learn more about the intense club rivalries that prevented them fully achieving at international level. Southgate told BBC’s Sportsweek programme his intentions after Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard revealed as TV pundits how their club animosity spilled over on England duty.