England appoint Gareth Southgate on four-year contract

The 46-year-old was unbeaten in his four games as interim coach, winning two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (against Scotland and Malta), drawing another (Slovenia) and also drawing an global with Spain.

The business of formally appointing Gareth Southgate as England manager began at St George’s Park on Wednesday morning.

Holland’s brief time in management at Crewe Alexandra from 2007-8 ended in failure but the 46-year-old counts the club’s former manager Dario Gradi as a key influence whom he has said extolled an attacking philosophy, paying little attention to defensive training because “we’ll score one more than them”. “For me, the hard work starts now”.

Gareth Southgate is unbeaten in four games as England manager.

Gareth Southgate has been confirmed as England’s permanent manager on a four-year contract that will take him through the 2018 World Cup and 2020 European Championship campaigns.

The news had been expected following Southgate’s interview with the Football Association last week.

As a player Southgate earned 57 caps and he will now be expected to bring the passion he had as a player to the job of manager as England bid to return to the global elite.

Jamie Redknapp told Sky Sports the player had given his manager a major problem and Southgate will need to find a solution. In the meantime, Southgate will have to keep himself busy with scouting, planning and tactical considerations as he aims to sustain England’s march towards World Cup qualification.

That was evident in the final match of the four-match interim stint, with England impressing, if ultimately caught cold at the death, against Spain.

Southgate said he believes he is qualified to fill a role previously occupied by veteran coaches Fabio Capello and Sven-Goran Eriksson despite his only previous first-team managerial role at Middlesbrough ending in 2009 after three years.

Once a job sought by the best coaches in world football, the England role has lost its appeal.

Southgate now faces a four-month wait before he can get his next squad together for the World Cup Qualifier with Lithuania at Wembley and a trip to face Germany.

Newspaper reports suggested the skipper was drunk and made an unscheduled appearance at a wedding reception, with chief executive Glenn promising an investigation into the conduct of all players and staff during their free time.

“Gareth is a great ambassador for what The FA stands for, he s a very good football tactician and a leader but beneath that he s a victor and that s an important part of the job”.