Football Association (FA) chief executive Mark Bullingham has hinted there is a “succession plan” for England manager Gareth Southgate, but insists no discussions have been held with any potential replacements.
Speculation about Southgate’s future has intensified ahead of the European Championship, with the 53-year-old suggesting it could be his final tournament if England do not succeed in Germany.
He has been linked with moves away from England, notably Manchester United, before it was confirmed by The Athletic that Erik ten Hag will remain as the club’s manager.
Southgate’s future as England’s manager will be a topic of discussion throughout the tournament. Bullingham acknowledged that while a plan is in place for a post-tournament review should he depart, no conversations with prospective successors have taken place.
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“Any organisation really has a succession plan in place for their top employees,” Bullingham said.
“We are no different to that. This succession plan normally includes everything from what you do for short-term cover, through to a process you follow to candidates. We have that for top employees.
“I want to respect Gareth and the team that they are very focused on the tournament and we want to be supporting them with that focus. Clearly, you plan lots of different scenarios for all your top employees all the time.
“Gareth has been really, really clear that he wants to talk about it after the tournament. I don’t want to provide any distraction for him and the team. I want to respect the fact that they want to talk about the future after the tournament.
“I’ve had no approach about him. There have been no approaches.
“We are sitting down after the tournament together and will talk about everything.
“I don’t think it is distracting for him (Gareth). I think he is used to it, he is in a great position and really positive.”
Having guided England to the final of the last Euros, where they narrowly lost to Italy on penalties, Southgate also led the team to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the quarter-finals in Qatar.
However, he told the German newspaper Bild that Euro 2024 might be his “last chance” to win a trophy with England.
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(Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
