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• Gareth Southgate knows Euro 2024 must go ‘very, very well’ to keep England job

  Gareth Southgate knows next year’s Euros will have to go extremely well for it to be a “possibility in anybody’s eyes” for him to stay on as England manager.

  The 52-year-old was parachuted into the hotseat following Sam Allardyce’s ignominious exit in 2016 and has gone on to oversee the national team’s best spell since winning the World Cup.

  England reached the 2018 semi-finals before losing the delayed Euro 2020 final in an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy at Wembley.

  There were more signs of progress as the team were edged out by France at last year’s World Cup, but a challenging year meant Southgate had to weigh up whether to see out his contract until 2024.

  The England boss decided to stay on after a week of contemplation following Qatar, but next summer’s European Championship could prove his last finals in charge.

  “My contract is until the December,” Southgate said. “That was always put in place because it would allow everybody reflection time, really.”

  Asked if the Euros would be his last tournament, Southgate said: “Who knows?

  “I think we’ll have to go very, very well for that to be a possibility in anybody’s eyes and that’s fair enough. I’m more than comfortable with that.

  “My aim is to try and win the tournament and everything I do is geared around that and every conversation I have with the players now is geared around that.

  “So, what will happen in the future at the moment it isn’t at the forefront of my mind, but trying to win this European Championship is.”

  England are third favourites with the bookmakers to triumph in Germany next year, and that is all the manager is focused on right now.

  ‘Succession’ is a buzzword thanks to the popular US TV series, but Southgate has not seen the show and was unwilling to talk about potential candidates for a job he cares deeply about.

  “Whatever (input) John (McDermott, Football Association technical director) and everybody else at the FA would like, really,” he said.

  “I’m not precious about it. If I could help in any way, at whatever point. I try to do that now with involvement in the pro licence, with reaching out to English coaches.

  “We’ve had people in to have the odd day here and there with us at training.

  “That’s not my decision but I’d always help English football as much as I can.

  “At whatever point I leave here, hopefully we’ve won something, but if I’m the second most successful I’ll be more than happy to become third very quickly.

  “I joined here to help English football and that will never change for me.”

  England’s immediate focus is taking a giant stride towards Germany by beating Malta and North Macedonia in June, but for a number of players their future is up in the air.

  Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham are subject of widespread speculation, while a lack of game-time is an issue for Southgate’s favourites Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips.

  “There’s potentially a lot of movement with that squad we’ve picked across the summer, but I think it will be later in the summer,” the England boss said.

  “It doesn’t worry me how it plays out. I think as a player you always back yourself. You’ve got to.

  “You’ve got to have the mentality that ‘wherever I go I’m going to force my way into the team’ until such point as which it becomes apparent where ‘maybe I’ve got to go’.

  “And maybe we’ve got a couple in the squad who’ve got that decision to go through in their own minds this summer.”

  That self-confidence has paid dividends for Jack Grealish, who struggled to make the desired impact in his first season at Manchester City.

  But the 27-year-old has come on leaps and bounds this term under Pep Guardiola, who Southgate considers the best coach in the world.

  “I’m a huge admirer,” the England boss said. “He knows that, I’ve told him.

  “Of course it’s been brilliant for our players to work with him and they have learned individually, tactically and, probably as much as anything, that mentality.

  “You mention Jack, he’s played properly, I would say, in this period. You know, against Real Madrid with and without the ball.

  “That wasn’t the case two-and-a-half years ago, if I’m honest, so there’s been a lot of progress.”

• Ryan Mason believes Daniel Levy has ‘been let down by other people’ at Tottenham

  Tottenham acting head coach Ryan Mason has defended Daniel Levy and insisted the under-fire chairman has been let down by other people.

  Levy has faced growing criticism this season and repeatedly had his name chanted at games with a section of supporters eager for the long-serving board member to depart.

  Eighth-placed Spurs are currently searching for a new permanent head coach and managing director of football while they could find themselves not in Europe for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

  Meanwhile, record goalscorer Harry Kane is about to enter the final year of his contract, but Mason leapt to the defence of Levy before the last match of the club’s season at relegation-threatened Leeds on Sunday.

  He said: “It hurts him, it hurts everyone committed to this club and everyone who really cares and wants this club to be successful.

  “One thing I will say is he’s spent money, he’s tried and I just think ultimately he has probably been let down by other people but that’s football.

  “That happens and hopefully we can get things right quickly, make good decisions and it can turn around.”

  Optimism was rife at the beginning of the campaign, but Spurs have lost 14 times in the Premier League, conceded 62 top-flight goals – their worst against tally since the 2002-03 term – and seen their trophy drought extend into a 15th season.

  Mason pulled no punches when asked about positives, adding: “I think the biggest positive will be the future.

  “And if we’re clever and if we do it right, then I think we’ll look back on this season and say it was tough, disappointing but ultimately it made us realise what we want to be.

  “It made us realise who we are, what our history and DNA probably suggests we are, what our fans want, what our fans demand and hopefully there is a connection very soon where we look back and say disappointing season, absolutely yes, but it helped us.”

  It was just over two months ago when Antonio Conte had his post-match outburst at Southampton and accused his own “selfish players” of not being a team or wanting to play under pressure.

  Spurs have won only twice during the ensuing nine matches but Mason rejected any notion his old boss was right given the games in hand Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton held over a club that were fourth at the start of April.

  “We haven’t won an away game since January, conceded 60+ goals this season so this isn’t something that has just happened in recent weeks,” ex-Tottenham midfielder Mason stated.

   

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  “Obviously we were left in a position in the league table that was probably false, in terms of other teams had games in hand.

  “When you level them out, I think the first game we had against Man United (on April 27) we might have been seventh in the table so there were a lot of things that were probably false.

  “One thing I will say is I respect everyone that I have worked with and I have learnt off a lot of people, but at the same time I am my own person and believe how not only this club, but how any football club I am at in the future, should work and operate.”

  Mason will have a decision to make on his own future after the clash at Elland Road with the 31-year-old firmly of the belief he is ready for management following this latest caretaker spell.

  He has consistently referenced the importance of “committed people” being at the club next season in recent weeks and hinted unspecified players could miss the trip to Leeds if they are not motivated to secure Tottenham a spot in the Europa Conference League with a seventh-placed finish.

  “I am looking forward to it. I hope my players are looking forward to it too,” Mason said.

  “I have made it very clear that if anyone isn’t up for the fight and doesn’t want to play in this type of game, then it is probably best we don’t play with them.

  “I just think going forward that (commitment) is really important. That is probably the first thing we need to address.

  “Whether it’s a cleaner, groundsman, members of staff, players here, coaches here, they need to be committed to this football club.

  “It’s an honour to work here. I’ve played here, I felt that pride whenever I put on the shirt and for anyone who’s lucky enough to represent us next season, first of all they need to be committed to the football club.”

• Willian: Pochettino and Chelsea can compete for silverware next season

  Mauricio Pochettino has "everything to succeed" in his first season if appointed as Chelsea's new head coach, according to former Blues winger Willian.

  Pochettino has been out of management since being sacked as Paris Saint-Germain boss at the end of last season, but he is reportedly close to taking over at Stamford Bridge ahead of next campaign.

  His rumoured arrival comes at the end of a tumultuous season for Chelsea, who have sacked Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter on the way to their lowest-ever points tally in the Premier League era.

  But Willian, who won two Premier League titles as well as the Europa League during his seven-year spell with the Blues, believes Pochettino is the man to bring success back to the club.

  "He is a great manager," Willian told Stats Perform. "He did a great job while he was at Tottenham and he has everything to succeed.

  "Chelsea is a giant club, it's a club that is always used to winning titles. Chelsea might not win anything one year, but the next year they'll be fighting for a title.

  "Chelsea has been winning titles this way for a few years now, and sometimes they don't do well in a league, but they win a European trophy or a cup.

  "Chelsea is a club that will always fight for titles, and I think they have everything to fight for a title again next year."

  Chelsea have spent over £600million in the transfer market since Todd Boehly's consortium took control of the club, including £323m on acquiring eight players in the January window alone.

  Willian feels the new signings will come good, adding: "I think the team has quality players.

  "They have signed a lot of players, but you can see they have a lot of quality players and I think they have everything to succeed, yes."

  Willian now plies his trade with Chelsea's west London rivals Fulham, who have secured a top-half finish in a successful first Premier League campaign following their promotion last term, sitting nine points above the Blues with one game remaining.

  Willian remembers his time at Stamford Bridge fondly, though, claiming they were the best years of a career that has also included spells at Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk.

  "Chelsea was the best moment of my career," Willian said. "It was almost eight years, I won titles, I was very happy.

  "Even before I was there, I already dreamed of playing for Chelsea. I watched Chelsea games on TV and I had this dream of playing there, and I was able to make that dream come true.

  "For me, those were the best years of my career. Those were incredible years."