Gareth Southgate signs new three-year England contract

The Three Lions’ most successful manager for more than 50 years, Gareth Southgate has agreed to stay in the job until 2024.

Southgate took over in 2016 with England in crisis. Still reeling from a disastrous Euros campaign, where they were kicked out by Iceland, Sam Allardyce was then sacked after just one game in charge after being subjected to an undercover sting operation.

The 51-year-old England head coach isn’t ready for a return to club coaching just yet, especially when there’s a chance to improve on reaching the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of this year’s European Championship.

Here to stay ?

We’re delighted to confirm that Gareth Southgate has extended his #ThreeLions contract through to 2024. pic.twitter.com/X3SGaU168f

— England (@England) November 22, 2021

“When you’ve done work culturally and where they can challenge (for titles), you want to bring that to fruition,” Southgate said earlier today.

“We’ve only won one World Cup but we have to believe that’s possible, it’s an aim we have as a team.

“To step away when we think the next few years could have been exciting, that could be difficult to live with. If this contract is the last, I will only be 53 at the end of it and I hope there’ll be a lot of my life at the end of it.”

“There was never a consideration I wouldn’t go to Qatar.

“I wanted to be sure I was wholly committed beyond that. Tournaments take a lot out of you and the way it ended for us (losing on penalties to Italy at Euro 2020) took a lot of emotion and energy, and we were so quickly back in World Cup qualifying and I wanted to allow myself that consideration.

“I didn’t want it to be a case of me agreeing something with my mind somewhere else in 18 months. I’ve signed to the (2024) Euros and if the team carry on playing at the level we know they can, that’s when we take the next decision. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t rushing into a decision that further down the line I might regret.”