Southgate exit 'not a surprise' says boss of Wiltshire FA

Gareth Southgate led England in 102 matches - including 2 finals

Author: Aaron HarperPublished 16th Jul 2024

Gareth Southgate's departure as England manager has been called 'not an enormous surprise' by the head of Wiltshire's Football Association (FA).

The Three Lions boss stepped down on Tuesday after England's 2-1 loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.

Simon Russell, Wiltshire FA CEO, said the 53-year-old can leave with his head held high.

"What a fantastic job he's done, transformational I think, over the period of eight years that that he's been in charge," he said.

Simon added: "If we look past the evident disappointment of Sunday evening, if we think about where the state of the England men's team was when he took over and where it is now, I think those are in two very different places. So I think he and his team deserve a lot of credit for that."

Southgate took charge of England in 2016, following a humiliating exit in that year's Euro's at the hands of Iceland under the tenure of Roy Hodgson, but it was actually Sam Allardyce who he replaced.

Allardyce was caught claiming he could offer advice on getting around player transfer rules in a newspaper investigation.

As well as two Euro's finals, Southgate took England to their first World Cup semi final since 1990 in 2018, before an agonising loss to France at the quarter final stage in 2022.

Simon praised the connection the ex-Middlesbrough captain developed between the team and the nation - but said that was only part of it.

He told us Southgate's commitment to long-term player development, including their growth as an individual, is 'absolutely to his credit', saying that it's something that can be implemented at grassroots level.

But he said the former-central defender's exit from his role wasn't a surprise.

Simon said: "When you get to the end of a cycle, you know an end of a tournament. I think there's always an opportunity to reappraise."

An attack-minded manager?

While no one can question that the image of the men's national team has been changed for the better, ultimate glory eluded Southgate, and he's faced criticism for a pragmatic style of play.

However, Simon told us he doubts if the FA will prescribe attacking football from the new boss.

He said: "I think they're going to look for somebody who's familiar in that environment dealing with players that are absolutely world class and has ideas about what they want to achieve and how they want to achieve it.

"I don't think they're likely to be prescriptive in saying, well, we need somebody who wants to do X&Y as well as win games.I think good coaches understand what they want to achieve and know how they want to get there and that's what will be most compelling."

With names like ex-Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp and former Chelsea managers Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Graham Potter all being linked to the job, it's raised the possibility of the team not being led by an English coach.

But Simon pointed to the success of Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman, who won the Women's Euro's in 2022, to highlight that England manager's don't have to be from England.

He said: "I was lucky enough to beat the Saint George's Park recently to see the lionesses practise and you know they have, you know they have a foreign coach and she does. She connects with fans and players, she gets it.

"She's led that that group of players and we know the lionesses have enjoyed success."

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