Gareth Southgate hints he’s ready to manage a top Premier League club after leaving the England job – which may be as soon as next summer – as he reveals discussion with Jose Mourinho about his next move
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Gareth Southgate has indicated he will look for a job at the top of the Premier League once his time as England manager is over.
Southgate, 53, has been England boss since 2016, but it appears he will leave after next summer's European Championships in Germany.
And the man who took England to their first major tournament final since 1966 has already considered the possibilities of club football, including discussing it with Roma's former Manchester United and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
Southgate has taken England to the World Cup semi-finals and European Championship finals, but his popularity as a manager has come with some criticism of his team's performances against the world's best international sides.
And despite his exploits with the national team, Southgate's only experience of Premier League management comes with Middlesbrough, with whom he was relegated in 2009.
Gareth Southgate believes he can land a top job in the Premier League after England
Jose Mourinho spoke to Southgate about his future prospects while at Man United
'Everyone would talk about Middlesbrough. “Oh, he got Middlesbrough relegated”. Well, in the third year we were relegated. But I managed the Premier League for three years,” Southgate said Air sports.
“There's not a job in world football that would intimidate or put you off if you've experienced this one (England), to be honest. You don't get a higher profile, you don't get greater pressure, you don't get more complex problems.'
Southgate's man-management has been a key element of his Three Lions reign, uniting a team that has often been divided in the past, rebuilding the side's relationship with the media and delivering results on the pitch.
And ahead of the new year, when he is likely to end his eight-year spell with England after the Euros, he revealed how a chat with Mourinho had furthered his belief that he could manage a top club.
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Southgate said: 'I remember talking to Jose (Mourinho) when he was at Man United and he said, 'You know, once you've done the role you're in now, you can do anything'. Real? I thought that was probably true, but after seven years it is certainly true.”
