Englishmen proving their coaching cred

WORLD Cup winner Paul Simpson insists English coaches are proving they are good enough to take the top jobs.

The former Carlisle boss guided the England Under-20s to World Cup glory in South Korea earlier this month.

Now Under-21 manager Aidy Boothroyd is one game away from the Euro 2017 final, with the Young Lions featuring in Tuesday’s semi finals.

Boothroyd joined the Football Association just months after being sacked by Northampton in 2013, with the Cobblers bottom of the Football League.

He had been criticised for employing a direct style during his club management career, but Simpson believes Boothroyd and others — including Under-17 boss Steve Cooper — are showing they can cut it.

He said: “A coach can coach whichever way they want to or are asked to, and Aidy has shown that with the FA, as have all the national coaches. We’ve got a really good group of national coaches, all from different backgrounds.

“We talk about English players not getting opportunities at the highest level, you can say the same about English coaches. But there is no point moaning about it.

“We’ve got to show we are good enough to get top jobs, and if we do that the big job offers will come. And hopefully the trend of looking to appoint managers from overseas all the time will buck.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are some top foreign coaches and managers around, but I think we’ve got some good English ones as well.”

Cooper also guided the Under-17s to the final of their European Championships in May, where they lost to Spain on penalties.

Simpson’s England side beat Venezuela 1-0 in the final in South Korea, after a 3-1 semifinal win over Italy, to become world champions — the first Three Lions team to do so since 1966. England U20’s manager Paul Simpson