Five key questions as Gareth Southgate takes interim charge of England

28 September 2016 13:08

Gareth Southgate will take charge of the England team for the remaining four matches of 2016.

Thrust into the hot seat following Sam Allardyce's embarrassing exit, the 46-year-old has precious little time to prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Here, Press Association Sport's Simon Peach tries to answer some of the key questions as Southgate prepares for the biggest job of his career.

How have we got to this point?

For those that have somehow managed to miss it, Allardyce's England reign came to an end a mere 67 days after replacing Roy Hodgson. The Daily Telegraph this week published secretly-filmed video of the 61-year-old appearing to make a variety of controversial comments to what he thought were businessman. They were in fact undercover reporters and Allardyce was out of work within 24 hours of the footage being made public.

Not the ideal preparation for next week's World Cup qualifiers then?

Not quite, no. In 10 days' time Malta visit Wembley for what was supposed to be Allardyce's first home match at the helm. Instead, England Under-21s manager Southgate has been parachuted in for that match, along with the trip to Slovenia and next month's matches at home to Scotland and Spain.

It must be a dream come true for Southgate?

Yes and no - dream job, wrong time. The 46-year-old was quick to rule himself out of consideration when Hodgson exited after Euro 2016 and just three weeks ago expressed doubt that he would be ready for the job. "I was very clear in my mind that there are other things I want to do first," Southgate said. "It is one of the ultimate jobs and you want every skill set possible when you go into it. Sam has years and years of experience. I am fiercely ambitious, there is no question about that, so I wouldn't want it to be seen that I'm not. I know how far I've come since I left Middlesbrough. I think with England there are one or two other things that I would want experience of before I took that role to be going into it in a position of real strength".

So he is just a short-term fix then?

That seems to be the intention. The Football Association, quite understandably, had no contingency plan for such a scenario arising so early into Allardyce's reign. FA chief executive Martin Glenn and chairman Greg Clarke are to sit down with Southgate to plan for the upcoming matches, before turning their attention to the long-term. However, a successful period could well whet the appetite of both interim manager and those at the top of the governing body. Clarke said the four-game spell gives Southgate "the chance to bond with the team" and gives the FA "the chance to think deeply about what we want for the future".

What are the odds on Southgate staying on permanently?

They have shortened as far as 8/11 with one bookmaker, making him far and away the favourite for the permanent position. Former Hull boss Steve Bruce, interviewed for the job in the summer, is second favourite, followed by Alan Pardew, Eddie Howe and Glenn Hoddle. United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann and long-serving Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger are the lowest-priced international candidates.

Source: PA