Gareth Southgate has said that his role as England boss will be "reviewed" as pundits lined up to urge him to stay in post.
In an interview immediately following England's World Cup exit to France, Southgate said that both he and the FA will "need time" before making a call on his future.
But in the television studio, ITV pundits Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright all called for Southgate to continue as England manager.
Asked about whether the defeat was a missed opportunity for England to get World Cup glory, Southgate said: "We were here to try and win the tournament and we thought we could. With the performance tonight against the reigning champions we showed we had a team that could have done that."
Pushed on whether this could spell the end for his six-year stint as England manager, he was non-commital, telling ITV: "After every tournament we’ve sat and reviewed and reflected, and that needs a bit of time to make sure that everybody makes the right decision."
But ITV's analysts were clear on their own views, who all called for Southgate to lead the Three Lions into the next European Championship in the summer of 2024.
"I would love Gareth to stay on for another two years," said Gary Neville, who spent four years as an England assistant manager between 2012 and 2016. "I’d love him to stay on beyond that, whether as the coach or whether it be a role the FA decide in the future. England in the past few years have won youth tournament, we’ve won the women’s tournament in the summer, we got to the men’s final in the Euros. England’s in a pretty good place, let’s be clear about that."
Neville also said that the nature of England's departure from this World Cup was very different from defeats in the past.
"We’ve gone out of tournaments in the last 25 years in disgrace, where you’ve thought: ‘What’s the future?’ We’ve got a great future here and he’s been a big part of that," the former Manchester United man said.
Ian Wright hailed Southgate as the best manager for England since Alf Ramsey, who was coach when England won the World Cup in 1966.
"His leadership skills and the experiences he’s had, what he’s done – he’s the most successful manager we’ve had since Sir Alf Ramsey," Wright said. "I’d like to see him continue, and if he’s not going to manager then at least some role at some level of the team."
Roy Keane said that he "fully agreed" with Neville and Wright, adding that he "fully expect[s]" Southgate to continue.
"You’d fully expect Gareth to stay on for the Euros. I don’t see him having an exit plan in his head," Keane said.
"With the job satisfaction, is he up for it? You look at the players, some of them have big decisions to make, some of the older players.
"I can agree with everything everyone’s said about Gareth, he’s done a brilliant job. But I’m sure he’ll want to look at his future and his family situation, does he want to give it a couple of years? Hopefully he does."
