‘Enthused’ Gareth Southgate hints at England stay beyond Euro 2024 | OneFootball

G

areth Southgate has hinted that he could stay on as England manager beyond Euro 2024 - provided England win the tournament.

Southgate initially refused to commit to staying on after England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to France in December but later agreed to honour his contract, which runs until after European Championship next summer.

England begin their qualification campaign for Germany with a tricky assignment against Italy in Naples on Thursday, before hosting Ukraine back at Wembley three days later.

Told it was his last chance to win a tournament with his country, Southgate joked: "Well, that depends if we win!"

Asked if he could really stay on for the 2026 World Cup if England do win in 18 months’ time, he added: "Let’s hope we’ve got that opportunity to make that decision!"

He continued: "I’m just thinking about game to game, preparing the team as well as possible.

"I’ve for a while felt I need to enjoy the experience, I think that emits itself to the players when you do that. I’m relishing the challenge. [Naples] is a great football city, this is a great place to come and be challenged, and we’re looking forward to the game.

Southgate added: "The way we played in Qatar and then the disappointment of losing in the quarter final, that generates motivation in itself.

"I was enthused by the reaction of the players when they arrived this week. You see their excitement at coming back together again and their enthusiasm for everything again. This is one of the greatest challenges anybody could have, trying to get England a trophy.

“That’s pretty straightforward. The hard part is that you have to wait 18 months to get to the point where you will actually be judged.

"We have to make sure we get the qualification right. We can’t take anything for granted."

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, the former Chelsea, Leeds and the Netherlands striker, has joined Southgate’s backroom staff as a replacement for Chris Powell.

Southgate acknowledged that he would like to have English staff but said there were not "a huge number" of black coaches with the right experience.

"There aren’t, at the moment, a huge number of black coaches who have the UEFA Pro Licence and have the experience," he said.

"Of course, there’s always a desire to develop English coaches and I spend a large amount of my time delivering on the Pro Licence and A Licence. In that role before we had Alan Russell who is Scottish, we have Marg [Martyn Margetson, the goalkeeping coach] who is Welsh.

"You’d like to have an English staff across the board, but there is strength in having other personalities as well. Jimmy will bring a presence. He’s got great energy. He has a high interest in the tactical side of the game - he’s typically Dutch, a student. I think he’s going to bring a lot to our coaching team."

Asked if it was damning that the FA could not find a sufficiently qualified black, English coach, Southgate added: "I didn’t say that. There are some great young coaches: Justin Cochrane and several others working, but people are in club jobs as well.