Gareth Southgate drops hint on future as England boss and sets Euro 2024 target

08 February 2024 , 22:30

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Gareth Southgate drops hint on future as England boss and sets Euro 2024 target

Gareth Southgate has dropped his clearest hint yet that he could stay on as England manager beyond this summer’s Euros.

‌Southgate insisted making a decision on his future before the tournament would be to the “detriment” of his team’s chances of winning the trophy. England boss Southgate, whose contract expires in December, admitted that he wanted to see how the Euros went before making a final decision on staying for the 2026 World Cup.

Southgate, who was talking at the draw for the Nations League which begins in September, said: “You've got to keep winning football matches, and then make decisions so I'm completely relaxed about that.

“All my focus is on delivering the best possible tournament this summer. My only focus is to try and win the tournament for England. I think you've got to see how the summer goes. It's as simple as that. In my view, I know what we're capable of achieving in the summer, I know what my own benchmark of success would be, after that I'm not really thinking about anything else at the moment.

‌“Without a doubt it's exciting to take the team, it's always been exciting to take the team, whatever the strengths of the squad. In the end, we've got to deliver performances, and you've got to make the best decisions for everybody really. I won't be in a position to make that decision before the tournament.”

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‌England were paired with Finland, Republic of Ireland and Greece in Nations League 2B which will guarantee a hot reception for Jack Grealish and Declan Rice as the pair had represented Ireland at younger age groups before switching allegiances.

But Southgate says they will be able to handle it as he warned his players they must perform to get promotion. The Three Lions were relegated into the second tier of the tournament last time out, which means they are no longer among the top seeds for World Cup qualifying.‌

Gareth Southgate has dropped his clearest hint yet that he could stay on as England manager (Getty Images)

Southgate added: “I have to say that I don’t know where we would have been without them, especially Declan. If we hadn’t had Declan over the past four years then I don’t know what we would have done.

“I've liked the competition it's thrown up. It's a good level of matches for us. At the moment, our focus is on the Euros, but I think there's some good trips for the supporters in there and definitely some difficult games.”

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