Mark Bullingham, the chief executive of the FA, says England hope to appoint Gareth Southgate’s successor “as soon as possible”.
Southgate resigned as England manager on Tuesday morning, less than 48 hours after the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 final heartbreak against Spain, having first been appointed on a temporary basis in September 2016.
The 53-year-old also led England to the final of Euro 2020, where they beaten on home soil by Italy, and also reached the last four of the 2018 FIFA World Cup before France ended their 2022 run at the quarter-final stage.
Southgate said it “has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England” in an emotional farewell statement, and the FA’s chief executive Bullingham admitted that there was immense pride at everything achieved over the course of his eight-year reign.
He also revealed that England have already starting work on finding Southgate’s successor, stating an intended timeline and contingency plan should things take a little longer than hoped.
“The process for appointing Gareth’s successor is now under way and we aim to have our new manager confirmed as soon as possible,” Bullingham said. “Our UEFA Nations League campaign starts in September, and we have an interim solution in place if it is needed. We know there will be inevitable speculation, but we won’t be commenting further on our process until we appoint.”
He added: “Gareth has made the impossible job possible and laid strong foundations for future success. He is held in the highest regard by the players, the backroom team, by everyone at the FA and across the world of football. We are very proud of everything Gareth and Steve achieved for England, and will be forever grateful to them.”
Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Under-21s manager Lee Carsley are regarded as the frontrunners for the job, while German duo Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp – both unemployed after leaving Bayern Munich and Liverpool respectively – have also been mentioned in dispatches.
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