Gareth Southgate is considering leaving his job as England manager.
England were knocked out of the World Cup by France on Saturday and Southgate wants time and space to make sure he makes the right decision.
Speaking after England’s quarter-final exit, Southgate said: “These tournaments take a lot out of you, and I need time to reflect. We’ve done that after every tournament and that’s the right thing to do.”
He added: “I don’t want to be four, five months down the line thinking I’ve made the wrong call. It’s too important for everybody to get that wrong.”
The FA and England players want Southgate to stay until at least the European Championships in Germany in 2024. Last year, Southgate signed a two-year contract extension which expires after Euro 2024.
Southgate led England to a first World Cup semi-final in 28 years in Russia in 2018, going out in extra-time to Croatia, before a Euro 2020 final defeat on penalties to Italy in the summer of 2021.
“He has done extremely well. I’ve seen England go out of a lot of World Cups, but rarely go out with this sense of wellbeing.
“The future is very bright, and of course that all stems from Gareth Southgate, the way he has taken on not just the job, but the job of developing the squad, and the whole business of developing the FA and turning it into a place where the young players want to actually go and come through the pathway – and can see quite a quick route into the national team.
“So, there is a 100 per cent argument for him staying, but obviously it’s a personal choice and I can understand why [he is considering his future].”