England: Southgate safe hands after Allardyce exit

Omnisports

September 27, 2016 7:55 AM

Gareth Southgate is perfectly equipped to lead England in the wake of Sam Allardyce's departure, says Martin Glenn.

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England are in safe hands with Gareth Southgate following Tuesday's controversial departure of manager Sam Allardyce, according to Football Association (FA) chief executive Martin Glenn.

Allardyce's 67-day reign was terminated by mutual consent following allegations published in the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper alleged Allardyce told two undercover reporters posing as investors based in the Far East how they might "get around" FA rules regarding the transfer of players under third-party ownership.

Video footage released by the Telegraph also showed the 61-year-old apparently criticising his immediate predecessor Roy Hodgson and assistant Gary Neville, along with the FA's costly rebuild of Wembley.

Additionally, it is also claimed he used his role to negotiate an agreement worth £400,000 to represent the fictitious Far East firm as a keynote speaker at selected events, while stipulating this would be subject to FA approval.

Southgate has been installed as interim manager for the nation's next four matches and Glenn is confident the former England defender is capable of steadying the ship.

"We're in good hands," he told FATV. "Gareth Southgate, the Under-21 coach who has got really good international experience and Premier League experience, will take charge of the team for the next four games, from Malta through to the friendly against Spain.

"He's got good back-office support and we'll be having a planning meeting with him later on this week, and we plan to go and win those games."

Discussing the process of appointing a permanent successor, Glenn added: "It's been a busy 24 hours, so you might imagine that we haven't got a process in place but job one is to secure the England team, which with Gareth we are doing.

"Job two is to reflect on what lessons need to be learned from what we've just gone through and how that might approach a new search – but I think the criteria of the person we're looking for will stay the same.

"The challenge is, with a very talented group of England players, how do you get the best out of them in tournaments? That's still the job to be done."

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