Gareth Southgate responds to Tottenham rumours with Mauricio Pochettino’s future in doubt after Brighton loss

The England manager insists his focus is on the national team

Jonathan Veal
Sunday 06 October 2019 11:16 BST
Comments
Brighton v Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino press conference

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Gareth Southgate has stressed his commitment to England amid speculation linking him with a return to the Premier League.

Southgate’s reputation has soared during his role as Three Lions boss, having led them to their best World Cup performance in 28 years and now taken them to the verge of Euro 2020 qualification.

A newspaper report last week claimed Tottenham were lining Southgate up to replace Mauricio Pochettino and, given the club’s woeful week, which has included a Champions League thrashing by Bayern Munich and comprehensive Premier League defeat to Brighton, that is a link that might not go away in a hurry.

The 49-year-old, who has been out of club management for a decade since leaving Middlesbrough in 2009, is under contract with his country until after the 2022 World Cup and has nailed his colours to the mast.

He said: “You go to bed Saturday night and you wake up Sunday morning and the agenda’s set.

“Look, I’ve said in the summer, I’m not somebody that needs to hedge my bets and needs to play cleverly and say, ‘I’ll keep this door open, that door open’.

“I’m the England manager and it’s a massive privilege to do the job. There’s a lot of work to do here with the team.

“We think the team can continue to improve, and until I’m told otherwise, 2022 is my contract, and that’s it.”

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in