‘I need time to go away and reflect’: Southgate says too soon to decide on contract

England manager Gareth Southgate says he will pause before any decision over his future but that he currently intends to stay in charge of the team.

England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties on Sunday after the game ended 1-1 after extra time.

Southgate is under contract until after next year’s World Cup in Qatar but the Football Association has already expressed an interest in extending his deal.

“I don’t think now is an appropriate time to be thinking about it. We have to qualify for Qatar. I need time to go away and reflect on Euro 2020. I need a rest,” Southgate told a news conference on Monday.

“To lead your country in these tournaments takes its toll. I don’t want to commit to anything longer than I should. It’s not a financial thing. As I sit here today. I would be wanting to take the team to Qatar,” he added.

The England manager, who led the team to the last four in the World Cup in Russia in 2018 said that a number of successful national teams had suffered the pain of being close to title before finally breaking through.

“If you want sustained success as a team, you need to be constantly evolving, improving and constantly finishing in latter stages of tournaments,” he said.

“It feels like my stomach has been ripped out this morning. But the fact we have had the first signs of some consistency – a World Cup semi-final and a Euro final – has to be a step in the right direction.”

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.