Gareth Southgate shrugs off links with Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham job

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The pressure on Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino continued to grow yesterday as Spurs lost 3-0 to Brighton at the Amex. 

It follows the 7-2 humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich in midweek and a recent poor run of form which also saw Spurs knocked out of the League Cup by Colchester United. 

Names are even starting to be floated in the press as potential replacements should Tottenham and Pochettino part ways. 

Jurgen Klinsmann was first but another name to be linked with the role has been England international boss Gareth Southgate. It was reported by The Mirror last week that Southgate had emerged as Tottenham’s number one candidate to replace Pochettino should the Argentine leave. 

However, the England boss has moved to quell such rumours. Southgate told the Press Association, as reported by Sky Sports, that he is committed to England until his contract expires in 2022.

“You go to bed Saturday night and you wake up Sunday morning and the agenda’s set.

“Look, I’ve said in the summer, I’m not somebody that needs to hedge my bets and needs to play cleverly and say, ‘I’ll keep this door open, that door open’.

“I’m the England manager and it’s a massive privilege to do the job. There’s a lot of work to do here with the team.

“We think the team can continue to improve, and until I’m told otherwise, 2022 is my contract, and that’s it.”

TBR’s View

Southgate’s good work repairing a damaged England squad deserves huge credit and Tottenham fans know he might be one of the best possible candidates, should they need to replace Pochettino.

However, others doubt he is good enough to help rebuild the current Tottenham team. His time in club management at Middlesbrough was mixed and his England performance has not been without its blips. 

It would also take a lot to convince Southgate to turn his back on a job he clearly loves, managing his nation. 

Hopefully, Pochettino can turn things around at Tottenham and a new appointment will not be needed. But it seems Southgate is not currently interested in turning his back on the England job.