Gareth Southgate has 'no regrets' stepping down as England manager, says it was 'right time for change'
Updated 12/09/2024 at 12:59 GMT+1
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Gareth Southgate led England to two major finals but could not end a 58-year wait for the senior men's team. Still, The Three Lions boss believes he and his team helped to propel England back to the top table of international football. He insists there are no feelings of what might have been after eight years in the job, with Lee Carsley currently in charge on an interim basis.
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Gareth Southgate says he has no regrets about his eight-year spell in charge of England and stressed that it was the "right time for change".
The 54-year-old led The Three Lions to a second major final at Euro 2024, but they were largely outclassed in a 2-1 defeat to Spain.
Southgate was pleased with his tactical calls throughout the tournament, despite a major title ultimately eluding England again as he came under fire for his decisions.
“It was probably the right time for change,” said Southgate in an interview with Sky News.
“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.
“We raised expectations and that was important. We needed to put English football back on the map.”
The former England defender received a raft of criticism for England’s sluggish performances in Germany this summer, with many comparing this to a perceived more attractive style of play under interim boss Lee Carsley.
“I’ve really shut myself off from everything since I left,” he continued when questioned about criticism.
“There’s no point in me talking about the team now. It’s for me to let other people take over, to give them the space to go and take the team on to the next challenges. There’s no point in me getting involved in anything like that.”
When quizzed about his next role, Southgate said: “I’m very open-minded to what’s next.
“That might be in football, that might be outside football. I’m just going to take some time, refresh, recharge and go from there.”
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Meanwhile, England continued their perfect start to life after Southgate with a comfortable 2-0 UEFA Nations League win over Finland at Wembley on Tuesday.
It was two wins from two games for Carsley at the helm - following a 2-0 win away at the Republic of Ireland - but the former under-21 manager admits he has not settled into the role yet.
“I definitely don’t feel comfortable [in the role],” Carsley told ITV after the Finland win.
“I’ve definitely been out of my comfort zone this international window. It’s been enjoyable, but I’ve had to make sure that every single day I’m producing really high standards along with the rest of the staff.
“We try and do as good a job as we can, and we’ve been fortunate to get two good results, and it’s about building on that now."
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