Gareth’s staying
SOUTHGATE IS SAFE
GARETH SOUTHGATE has been told his job is safe no matter how badly England perform at next summer’s World Cup.
The England boss signed a four-year contract to take him beyond Euro 2020 last year after four games in charge as a caretaker manager. Southgate
(left) has made such a good impression on his FA bosses, though, that chief executive Martin Glenn insists his head will not be on the block.
England were drawn against
Belgium, Tunisia and Panama in Friday’s draw.
But asked whether a repeat of 2014, when Roy Hodgson failed to get England out of their group, would lead to a change of manager, Glenn said: “No.
“No one wants to have a bad World Cup, but we’re confident he’s the right guy to take us through for the next few tournaments.
“Long-term plans are hard to defend when the short-term results go against you. But we’ve got a long-term plan. You’ve seen it, you’ve seen some of the fruits of it.
“Gareth has a long-term contract. He’s not looking at Russia as a free pass, he wants to go there and win.
“But we’re going to do it in a way that’s sustainable. We’re going to make sure we’re picking the kind of players that can do their best in Russia and continue to kick on in 2020 and 2022.
“What we’re doing is making sure that players that have made it through to the first team by 21 or 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 competitions to win. We know that worked for the Germans and we know that worked for the Spanish.
“We’re repeating things they’ve done with our own emphasis on it.”