England preparing for Gareth Southgate replacement with talks already planned for after Euro 2024
Gareth Southgate is taking charge of his fourth major tournament
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FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has revealed a 'succession plan' has already been drawn up should Gareth Southgate leave as England manager at the end of Euro 2024.
Southgate is taking charge of his fourth major tournament as England manager, starting this weekend against Serbia.
Only Walter Winterbottom and Sir Alf Ramsey have managed more England games than Southgate, who will pass the 100 landmark should the Three Lions reach the quarter-finals.
That is seen as the bare minimum for an England side many have tipped to go all the way this summer.
Gareth Southgate is taking charge of his fourth major tournament
REUTERS
Southgate's side finished runners-up to Italy in the last Euros and will fancy their chances of going one step further this time around.
But there will be questions surrounding Southgate's future as England manager following the tournament and Bullingham has revealed that talks will be held later this summer.
“I’ve seen some things about have we got a plan or haven’t we?” Bullingham said.
“Any organisation has a succession plan in place for their top employees and 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."
He added: "We are sitting down after the tournament together and will talk about everything.
"Gareth has been really clear that he wants to talk about that after the tournament.
"I don’t want to provide any distraction for him and the team. I want to respect [that].
"I would say I think the world of Gareth, I think he has done a phenomenal job.
"I think he has transformed the fortunes of our team, and that’s not just off the pitch, and you can see the culture, but also the performances on the pitch.
"Since 1966, he has won about half of our knockout games, which is a measure we really use, so we value him massively."
Gareth Southgate's contract runs until December
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It's been reported that over half-a-million ticketless England fans will travel to Germany throughout the course of the Euros.
England's opening group game against Serbia has been deemed 'high risk' by German authorities due to fears of crowd trouble.
But Bullingham is hopeful the travelling England fans can be a 'tribute to their country' and stay out of trouble.
“Over the last few years, our England fans have been absolutely brilliant support to us, particularly in the stadium,” Bullingham added.
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Mark Bullingham has confirmed England have a succession plan for Gareth Southgate should he leave
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“There are a lot of people going to come out here.
“The best thing that the fans can do to help us do well in this tournament is be a tribute to their country.
"The German police have proved they are really good at policing football tournaments so there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case again.
“But really the main message is: get behind the team and support in the right way.”
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