Former England manager Gareth Southgate has expressed that he is not in a hurry to find a new position but remains open to various opportunities in or outside the football world. The 54-year-old stepped down in July following England’s consecutive defeats in the European Championship final, concluding an eight-year tenure with the national team.
While the search for Southgate’s replacement continues, interim manager Lee Carsley has garnered positive results, securing 2-0 victories in his first two matches against Ireland and Finland.
There has been speculation linking Southgate to Manchester United as a possible successor to the under-pressure coach Erik ten Hag, as well as to a technical observer position at UEFA, the European football governing body.
In an interview with Sky News, Southgate stated, “I’ve got lots of opportunities, I’m very open-minded to what’s next that might be in football, that might be outside of football. I’m just going to take some time, refresh, recharge and go from there. I think at the moment people know that I need to get my energy back. I am not going to rush into anything; I want to make sure I make good decisions.”
Reflecting on his time with the national team, Southgate noted that he played a significant role in re-establishing England’s presence on the international stage, with achievements including reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the finals of the last two European Championships.
He added, “I don’t think you can have regrets. We made decisions with the information we had at the time to try and produce a winning team. I gave the job everything I had. We raised expectations, and that was important. We needed to put English football back on the map.”