Former Manchester United star Gary Neville has called on Gareth Southgate to make a quicker decision on his future amid uncertainty over the England managerial role.
Southgate indicated earlier this week that he faced a difficult decision on whether to continue in charge following England’s disappointing World Cup quarter-final exit against France.
Despite being shown support by the English Football Association and several players, the 52-year-old admitted that he is ‘conflicted’ about carrying on after enduring criticism over the last 18 months, including being booed by his own supporters at Molineux in June.
Southgate has been in charge of the national team for six years, leading them to the World Cup semi-final, quarter-final and European Championship final.
With two years left on his contract, Neville believes there is no better candidate to lead England forward than the former Middlesbrough manager.
“There’s no English person alive who’s got more experience at major tournaments, junior tournaments or youth tournaments and playing for his country,” Neville said via Football Daily.
“He’s seen it all Gareth, and I think he should be kept within the system to design the future. He’s been there for ten years, and we’ve had great success with the women’s teams, we’ve had great success with the younger teams, I think we’ve had relatively really good success with the men’s team.
“He’s seen that over the ten years, that improvement in performance and I’d like him to stay with the FA beyond his coaching role.”
The whole of England is on its toes as they await Southgate’s decision, and Neville has now urged his compatriot to come out and put an end to speculation over his position.
“I think Gareth has to come out probably in the next few days and put it to bed, I’m staying or I’m not, because I don’t think we can go into the new year, and obviously, we’ve got games in March, I think. I don’t think that’s fair on the FA because they need to find a successor.”
