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Gareth Southgate insists he will not remain as England manager just to \u201crack up\u201d games or years in the job.<\/p>\n
The 53-year-old signed a new contract following England\u2019s quarter-final World Cup exit in Qatar last year and the deal runs until next December.<\/p>\n
That will take in Euro 2024 in Germany, with Southgate\u2019s side having already qualified for the finals with two games to spare.<\/p>\n
After guiding England to a World Cup semi-final and the Euro 2020 final, Southgate has enjoyed some of the best success of any manager of the national team since the glory of 1966.<\/p>\n
He took the reins, initially on an interim basis, in 2016 but asked if he would be interested in staying on until the 2026 World Cup and making it a decade in charge, Southgate replied: \u201cI\u2019ve not even thought about it at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last time we played Malta here, I found out I was taking the team four days before the camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost things I\u2019ve done in my life since finishing playing, I didn\u2019t know anything about until a few days before they happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not one who has ever sort of had a plan in my mind of what my career would be. Let\u2019s just enjoy what we\u2019re doing, try and do it as well as we can and crack on with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not interested in just racking up games or racking up years. Its about being the best team we can be and taking on those challenges. I\u2019m not just here to collect caps.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m loving working with this team, I\u2019m loving working with the staff that work around the team as well<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is about doing the job as well as I can, being excited by it, motivating the players, having the level of performance we\u2019ve had for six or seven years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in the top five for the last five years. That\u2019s good, consistent performances and results, that would indicate. I\u2019m genuinely not thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southgate believes the life of an international manager is judged on a tournament-by-tournament basis and claimed to not be considering anything beyond aiming for success at the Euros next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m out of contract next December and I think any manager who is thinking beyond seven months is in a privileged position really,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super-excited about the tournament. We\u2019re really gearing towards the next tournament and I think everybody in international football is living from tournament to tournament so for me, I\u2019m really comfortable with the position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m loving working with this team, I\u2019m loving working with the staff that work around the team as well. We\u2019re looking forward to the next few months.\u201d<\/p>\n