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England boss Gareth Southgate talks about the challenge of fitting all his talented forwards into one team
England manager Gareth Southgate says his contract situation is "not an issue and never has been" as he enters the final six months of his deal before the European Championship in Germany.
Southgate, who has been in charge of the Three Lions since 2016, considered leaving the job after the World Cup quarter-final defeat by France in Qatar but stayed on.
The Football Association is keen for Southgate to remain as manager. He will be overseeing a fourth major tournament as manager this summer, as the men’s team look to win their first trophy since the 1966 World Cup.
And the 53-year-old, who will have managed the same number of England games as Sir Bobby Robson when the tournament kicks off, says the talk about his future will not be a distraction.
"Well, for me, it's not an issue and never has been," Southgate said.
"I have to deliver a successful tournament for England and there's enough work involved in that. I think everybody would expect that's where my focus should be."
Southgate has played down links to the Manchester United job with their manager Erik ten Hag under pressure.
"There will always be speculation about managers, because if you lose a couple of games, you're in trouble – you win a couple of games and it is a different agenda," Southgate said.
"But for me, it [Euro 2024] is a brilliant opportunity. We're looking forward to the tournament. My focus is on how do we go a step further than we went in the last Euros [when they were beaten on penalties in the final by Italy]."
Southgate spoke to BBC Sport about how he deals with expectation, fitting all his star players into the England starting line-up, Jude Bellingham and being a spokesman.
Gareth Southgate's overall win percentage as England manager is 61.3%, while in major tournaments – World Cup, Euros and Nations League – it is 43.2%
Southgate will select his initial Euro 2024 squad on Tuesday 21 May – Uefa has allowed 26-man squads for the tournament.
While England have some of the best attacking options in Europe to choose from, they also have injury concerns in defence, especially at full-back where Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Kieran Trippier have all missed significant periods of the season.
Southgate said he had "challenges" that the extra options might help with, but added he will "decide whether 26 is the right amount", saying "there’s no point in taking more players than we need".
England will play friendlies against Bosnia-Hergzovina and Iceland before submitting a final squad on the 7 June deadline.
Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer have scored more than 160 club goals and made more than 70 assists between them in club football this year
Much of the supporter discussion around England is how to find space in a starting XI for a generation of excellent forwards.
Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Ollie Watkins are all having great individual seasons at their clubs and the debate around Foden in a central position has gathered momentum in recent weeks.
"Well, we can't start them all," said Southgate.
"They're nice problems to have. You’d rather have talent and have to make decisions based on form, than not have those options and be scratching your heads on who to play in which position.
"I think any manager would say the same thing. You'd rather have good players to work with and to pick from."
England go into the tournament in Germany as one of the favourites to win.
The depth of talent, strength of the Premier League, plus the history of reaching the World Cup semi-final in 2018, the Euros final in 2021 and the perceived progression of the way the team played in Qatar, means that a lot is expected of Southgate's side.
The England manager agreed the expectation is higher than usual and said "perhaps the expectation matches the capability a little bit more than it has done historically".
He added: "And I think there's always expectation of England anyway, we know that.
"But I think there's belief within the playing group and staff because of the experiences that we've had in those last few tournaments."
Jude Bellingham has continued to show he is one of the best midfielders in the world since his 103m euros (£88.5m) move to Real Madrid.
The 20-year-old has won the La Liga title and reached a Champions League final in his first season – and will likely play a significant part if England are to progress to the latter stages of the tournament.
Southgate believes that Bellingham’s ability to "grab games" is what makes him "unusual".
“[He's shown] amazing maturity to settle into the biggest club in world football in terms of their history, and to have the impact he's had with the number of goals, big goals, winning goals,” Southgate said.
"He's got an insatiable desire to win. That mentality is possibly the thing that stands out."
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Southgate is asked to speak on topics that do not only relate to football. During his time as manager, he has been asked to comment on racism, the Covid pandemic, the flag colour on the back of the shirt, and also his thoughts on whether the Wembley arch should be lit up.
The England boss says he accepts his role as a "statesman for the country" but it can be "unusual" for him.
"It's different in that, normally, I think managers would just be asked about football," he said.
"It's a position where you have responsibility and influence so there are times where you are probably asked to comment on things when I'd probably rather just focus on football, but I understand it, and I've got used to over the years I guess."
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