Team behind the team: meet Gareth Southgate’s England backroom staff
Steve Holland (assistant manager)The 51-year-old became Gareth Southgate’s full-time assistant in 2017 having initially worked with him at Under-21 level and after a coaching career that saw him manage Crewe before progressing through the ranks at Chelsea, starting off the reserves and going on to work at first-team level under AndréVillas Boas, Roberto Di Matteo, Rafael Benítez, José Mourinho, Guus Hiddink and Antonio Conte. Holland leads England’s tactical drills and is widely recognised as one of the smartest coaches in the country. Cesc Fàbregas, who was with Holland at Stamford Bridge, said: “Steve’s meticulous brain is England’s secret weapon.”
Graeme Jones (assistant coach)The former Doncaster Rovers striker joined Southgate’s setup a month before the Euros as a replacement for the attacking coach, Allan Russell, who “agreed to leave his post” after accepting responsibility for his part in a road traffic accident. Jones does not have the same duties as Russell and instead has brought with him broad coaching skills from an extensive career that started at Hamilton Academical in 2006 before he worked alongside Roberto
Martínez at Swansea City, Wigan Athletic, Everton and with Belgium. He also managed Luton Town before, in late January, becoming assistant coach at Newcastle United, where he was widely credited for the tactical adjustments that led to his boyhood club avoiding relegation.
Chris Powell (assistant coach) Capped five times by England at the start of the century, the former leftback joined Southgate’s team in September 2019 as part of a Football Association programme designed to improve the under-representation of ethnic minority coaches. He arrived with a wealth of experience having managed Charlton Athletic, Huddersfield Town and Southend United. Since last year he has been combining England duties with his role as Tottenham Hotspur’s head of coaching at Under-17 to Under-23 level. The 51-year-old was also an assistant to Ryan Mason during Mason’s tenure as Spurs’ interim manager last season.
Martyn Margetson (goalkeeping coach)Hired by Sam Allardyce during his very short stint as England manager, the former Manchester City, Southend, Huddersfield and Cardiff City goalkeeper has become an integral part of the setup, specifically in regards to Jordan Pickford. The pair have developed an excellent working relationship, in part from their time together at Everton, with Pickford crediting the 49-yearold, who was part of the Wales setup that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016, for his consistently good performances at international level.
Steve O’Brien (lead performance analyst)O’Brien has been with the FA since January 2003 and worked as a senior analyst based at Loughborough University before moving to St George’s Park in September 2012, from where he is in charge of a four-man team who provide detailed video analysis of
England players and opposition sides. These go to the coaches and to the players so they can assess their own performances.
Mike Baker (senior performance analyst)Baker joined the FA in November 2007 as a performance analyst having carried out that role for Team Bath across a variety of sports, including netball, skeleton, judo and volleyball. He was promoted to his current role in December 2015 and has been described by Noel Blake, the former England Under-19s coach, as possessing “great insight and understanding of the game”, and being a “great lad”.
Daniel Parker (performance analyst)Having achieved a Masters in International Performance Analysis of Sport at Nottingham Trent University, Parker worked as an analyst at Notts County and Derby County before joining the FA in August 2013.
Peter Clark (performance analyst) Clark joined the FA in June 2019 having worked as a first-team performance analyst at Leicester City for seven years, where he had sole responsibility for providing post-match video and statistical feedback to staff and players.
Bryce Cavanagh (head of physical performance and nutrition)Born in Sydney, Cavanagh joined the FA in November 2016 as head of physical performance and nutrition having carried out similar roles at Melbourne Rebels rugby union team and at Munster. He had also worked with the West Indies cricket team and is widely recognised as being incredibly forwardthinking when it comes to the longterm physical care and advancement of elite athletes. It was apparently his idea to let England players mess about with inflatable unicorns in the swimming pools.
Dr Benjamin Rosenblatt(lead physical performance coach)Rosenblatt joined the FA in September 2016 having been part of the Team GB setup that travelled to Rio for that summer’s Olympics. He has been credited with playing a key role in the women’s hockey team winning gold in Brazil and, having become part of the England setup, improving the fitness level of the squad that went on to reach the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Steve Kemp (lead physiotherapist) Having worked as head of medical services at Wolves for four years, Kemp joined the FA as a physiotherapist in August 2012 and became the lead physio for the men’s side in February 2016. He is also a guest lecturer at Birmingham University, where he earned a postgraduate diploma in manual therapy, and at University College London. With England, Kemp works closely with the lead performance doctor, Dr Mark Williams.
Dr Ian Mitchell (head of performance psychology)Like Margetson,
Mitchell was part of the Wales setup at Euro 2016. He joined the FA in February 2018 as part of its people and team development department and has largely taken over the role carried out by Pippa Grange during the last World Cup – working directly with the players to enhance their psychological resistance. Describing the role himself, Mitchell says: “My objective is to create vibrant England cultures through strong environments and resilient people.”