SOUTHGATE DESERVES IT’

FORMER caretaker England boss Peter Taylor also believes Gareth Southgate is the only candidate for the full-time job. Taylor (left) took charge of the Three Lions for a 1-0 friendly defeat against Italy in 2000 – handing David Beckham the captaincy for the first time and keeping the seat warm for Sven Goran Eriksson. Like Southgate, the ex-Crystal Palace, Hull and Leicester manager also coached the England Under-21s. But he backed axed chief Sam Allardyce’s stand-in to stick around a lot longer than his one night in Turin.

Taylor, 63, currently the New Zealand No.2, who jets out to the US today for friendlies against America and Mexico, said: “Gareth has got everything it takes to be the permanent England manager.

“I’m a great believer that it has to be an Englishman in the role and Gareth ticks all the boxes. People might say: ‘What has he done in the game and that he took Middlesbrough down’, but that doesn’t wash with me. He is very knowledgeable about the game. And the thing he will get from the FA is all the tools he needs to be a success at the job.

“When I was England manager, I picked him in a three-man central defence with Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand, and I was impressed by his intelligence as a player.

“He has taken that on to what he has achieved with the Under-21s.

“And one thing he won’t be is weak. He is a very strong-minded individual and will want to do things his own way.”