Eddie Howe says he was not contacted by FA over England job, Pep Guardiola non-committal

LONDON – Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe said on Oct 18 he was not contacted by the Football Association (FA) during the search for the England manager, which ended with the appointment of Thomas Tuchel.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who was widely reported to have been sounded out for the post, was less upfront.

Asked if he had conversations about the England job on Oct 18, he said bluntly: “Thomas Tuchel is the manager. So forget about it. I am the manager of Man City. The conversations I have is with Man City.”

The FA announced on Oct 16 that the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach would be the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, taking up his post from January.

FA chief executive officer Mark Bullingham said the governing body had “interviewed approximately 10 people” including some English candidates, before opting for the German.

Howe, one of only a handful of English managers in the English Premier League, was arguably the strongest home-grown candidate.

But when asked at his pre-match press conference whether he had been interviewed for the position, he said: “No, I wasn’t.”

Howe, whose team host Brighton & Hove Albion on Oct 19, said there had been no contact from the FA.

The Newcastle boss said he was glad the “distraction” over who would succeed Southgate was finally over, but added that he might be interested in the future.

“There was no one more pleased than me to see Thomas get the job, really, and take it because it’s just a distraction – not that it distracts me, but you can see it’s unsettling at times when certain things are said and written about,” he said.

“The more that everyone can focus on Newcastle, which has always been my only concern, the better.”

Asked whether he might be interested one day, Howe said: “Who knows? I’ve always said that you can never predict what’s going to happen in management, you can never plan too far ahead. I certainly don’t.”

Howe was asked whether it bothered him that there had been no contact from the FA.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “England have to do what is right for them and only they will know the processes they’ve gone through and the decisions they’ve made, and I’m certainly not the type of person that’s going to analyse that.”

It was reported on Oct 18 that the FA had been put off interviewing Howe by a hefty compensation payment that would have been due to Newcastle if they had appointed him.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said at his own press conference on Oct 18 that he did not speak to the FA over the England job but described Tuchel as “one of the best coaches in the world”.

“The way his teams are set up... it’s very exciting times,” he said. “I spoke to a few players, they had a smile on their faces. That’s a great sign.”

The Spaniard was asked about the appointment of a non-Englishman to the national job.

“I would take a lot of pride that a lot of people and managers would do anything to become the England manager,” he said, later admitting he would have played for the Three Lions if he was handed the chance earlier in his career.

Howe, meanwhile, said: “My preference would have been for an English coach. But if you are going to go foreign then go for the best, and Thomas is certainly that.” 

Everton’s English manager Sean Dyche said many people would have liked an English manager but believes Tuchel’s appointment is “a reality of the modern game”.

Southampton boss Russell Martin felt that “loads of English coaches are capable” of helming the national team.

The Brighton-born former defender who played for Scotland said: “Maybe English managers are not given enough credit or maybe they’re deemed not good enough by the most important people. I hope at some point it will be really obvious that there are lots of really good English managers around that are capable of doing it.”

Leicester City boss Steve Cooper said he believed in the British coaching pathway.

“Hopefully over the course of time, British coaching will continue to improve and we will be right up there with the world’s best,” said the Welshman, who led England to victory at the Under-17 World Cup in 2017.

“In the meantime, any opportunity we are given we have to take them and do a good job.

“Until we do that on a regular basis, maybe we shouldn’t say so much.” AFP, REUTERS