Gareth Southgate today opened the door on a return to management as he vowed to ‘never say never’.
Southgate, 55, resigned as Three Lions boss following England’s 2-1 defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final, ending his eight-year reign as manager of the national team.
In the near 18 months since, Southgate has been knighted by Prince William at Windsor Castle for his services to football, and has reportedly bagged a role as host of a new BBC show called One of a Kind.
He has also been consistently linked with some of the biggest jobs in football – particularly the Manchester United post whenever Ruben Amorim looks to be in a precarious position.
And when asked if he could be tempted back to the dugout if a ‘big job’ or ‘Premier League job’ was to open up in the future, Southgate did not rule it out.
‘Well, you can never say never because I’ve just seen Martin O’Neill at his age go to Celtic,’ he told BBC Breakfast.
Gareth Southgate today did not close the door on a return to football management in the future
He resigned as England boss after eight years following the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain
‘But it’s not something that’s high on my agenda at the moment. I’m enjoying the work around leadership, I’m enjoying my work with young people, very determined to try and make a difference there.
‘And so no, I’m very relaxed about not being in football at the moment.’
Over the last week, Southgate has been linked as an outside candidate for the vacant Wolves job, as well as Celtic, who are being temporarily manage by O’Neill.
But the 55-year-old told the breakfast show that he is ‘not desperate to stay in football’ after nearly four decades in the game as a player and manager.
He said: ‘I had an amazing time. Obviously, the great thing with England is that there’s this higher purpose.
‘I joined the FA to try to help English football become better, to help youth development in particular.
‘I somehow stumbled and ended up in the first-team manager’s job and we had a pretty good period.
‘But I’m not desperate to stay in football, I’ve had 37 years in football, which is amazing.’
Southgate was knighted by Prince William at Windsor Castle for his services to football in June
Southgate has had a packed agenda of late, preparing for the release of his new book this week as well as undertaking a number of speaking events and business ventures.
It was reported that his role presenting the new BBC show will see him conduct interviews with people at the forefront of inspirational stories.
Southgate was appointed as England boss in 2016 and oversaw 102 matches in charge, winning 61, drawing 24 and losing 17.
During his tenure England reached the finals of Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, losing to Italy and Spain respectively.
The Three Lions also reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
He left his position as England manager two days after the loss to Spain and was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Around six months later, Southgate was recognised for his services to football in the New Year Honours and officially received the knighthood in the summer.
It means he is the fourth England manager to be knighted, after Sir Walter Winterbottom, Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson.
Southgate is often linked with jobs in England but says he is ‘not desperate to stay in football’
He told Sky Sports after the knighthood: ‘I have to say I was more emotional than I thought I would be, but an amazing experience for my whole family today.
‘The lovely thing is you get to meet so many people who have done incredible things for our country, so to meet other award winners was very, very special.
‘The Prince has been an incredible supporter of the England team, we have been fortunate to have shared some amazing moments and some disappointments where he has spoken so brilliantly to the team, it was great to see him again.
‘(I thought) about everyone who has helped me on the way, coaches from when I was a player, obviously my family who have given me an incredible grounding in life and my wife and children who have been so supportive in everything I have done.
‘Then everyone I have worked with along the way, all of the staff and all of the players.’
