With Wayne Rooney the latest member of England’s Golden Generation to move into club management, the Three Lions should be spoilt for choice on the coaching front for the foreseeable future.
Rooney was appointed the interim Derby County boss following Phillip Cocu’s sacking in November – grabbing his first victory at the weekend – and joined former England team-mates Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker on the management step-ladder. Southgate insists the FA are on hand to help England’s record striker develop his management skills if needs be.
“I would say, if he ever needs us, we’re here to help him,” Southgate told FourFourTwo following the qualification draw for 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “We have lots of people here at the FA, and we recognise that helping all young English coaches is something we’re keen to do.”
Rooney has made an impressive start as temporary Rams boss, with two draws and a win from his opening three Championship fixtures. While he’s probably still a little way off managing at the top level, the same can’t be said for Lampard and Gerrard, who are already impressing in high profile roles.
Lampard’s Chelsea are third in the Premier League table after 11 matches, having spent big on new singings over the summer, while Gerrard’s Rangers are early season favourites to win their first Scottish Premier League title in a decade.
“It’s great to see Frank and Steven doing well in the roles they’ve got,” Southgate said. “They should all have ambitions to be sitting where I am. I am sure there are lots of them who are going to be capable of doing that.”
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Southgate mentions Fulham’s Scott Parker as another former England player who is currently managing in the Premier League. However, the Three Lions boss insists there is also a swathe of talented English coaches that didn’t star for England.
“It’s not just about the guys who were [England] players," he told FFT excitedly. "There are English coaches like Graham Potter, Eddie Howe, Sean Dyche. I also know Liam Rosenior is also involved behind the scenes at Derby. He is a young coach who is very promising as well. We’re there to support if needed, basically. We want English coaches to do well.”
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It wasn’t long ago the FA felt compelled to recruit managers from abroad due to a dearth of Englishmen managing at the very top level. Sven Goran Eriksen and Fabio Capello were both successful club managers before taking the England role, but their recruitment highlighted a lack of quality options back home.
Right now in the Premier League, eight clubs boast an English manager: Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Brighton, Fulham, Burnley and Sheffield United. Gerrard and Rooney are just two other high profile names forging their careers in management. This can only be good news for the FA in future.
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