Gareth Southgate has declared he would not be afraid to take on the England manager's job on a permanent basis when his four-game stint as interim head coach ends
Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate
London: Gareth Southgate has declared he would not be afraid to take on the England manager's job on a permanent basis when his four-game stint as interim head coach ends.
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Southgate was installed following Sam Allardyce's abrupt departure in September and Friday's 3-0 win over Scotland in World Cup qualifying left him with two wins and one draw from his first three games.
The England job is one of the most high-profile roles in world football, obliging incumbents to deal with sky-high expectations, a huge degree of personal scrutiny and an impatient press pack.
But when asked if there was any part of him that feared the job, Southgate replied: "No, is the answer. I said earlier in the week that it would be easy to look at the negatives, but to work with top players and to work in big matches is what I want to do. From that side, no."
Renowned for his mild-mannered nature, Southgate produced a rare display of emotion after Adam Lallana's second goal against Scotland, dropping to one knee on the touchline and punching the air.
"I enjoy winning. Obviously, the person that I am when I'm in this sort of situation (talking to the media), or outside and meeting people is different to the animal that wants to win football matches. I think the players get that now and that's important because I think sometimes there's perhaps a misconception about how much it means for me to win. So it's a special night to be involved in," the 46-year-old told reporters after the game at Wembley.
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