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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.”

• Rob Edwards relieved to hear skipper Tom Lockyer is doing okay after Luton win

  Rob Edwards’ delight at Luton ending their 22-year wait for Premier League football was nothing compared to the relief he felt at the news captain Tom Lockyer was all right.

  Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final went the distance at a packed Wembley, where the Hatters rallied after their skipper’s worryingly collapse early on.

  Jordan Clark put Luton into a deserved lead that Coventry midfielder Gustavo Hamer cancelled out in the second half, with the match ending 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra-time.

  Joe Taylor saw a winner ruled out just before spot-kicks, with Fankaty Dabo’s sudden-death miss sealing a 6-5 shoot-out triumph that propelled Luton back into the top-flight for the first time since 1992.

  The dramatic triumph means the Hatters will welcome Manchester City and Co just nine years after facing the likes of Salisbury and Hyde in the Conference Premier.

  Luton boss Edwards said: “I felt a bit numb. I just made sure I shook Mark’s hand and his staff.

  “I don’t want to be that guy that just starts running off and celebrating before I’ve seen the other manager.

  “I just felt very numb. I still do. It hasn’t sunk in quite yet. It might take a few days, but it’s great. It does feel good.

  “It was mixed because of Locks (Lockyer), that’s why I couldn’t really go for it celebrating.”

  This is a day that will live long in the memory of anybody connected to Luton, whose players held a Lockyer shirt throughout the celebrations.

  The Hatters captain collapsed when running back to defence in the early stages of the final, leaving the field on a stretcher and being taken to hospital for tests.

  Luton confirmed Lockyer was “responsive and talking to his family”, with his dad posting an image of him in a hospital bed celebrating the shoot-out win.

  Edwards cried with delight when he saw that image and hopes to soon celebrate with the much-loved skipper.

  “If we can we will (see him in hospital),” he said of Lockyer, who is expected to be kept in overnight. “But I don’t want to get in the way and if I’m not allowed then I won’t.

  “If I’m allowed I would love to go and see him, but then I think we’re so tight as a group that I’m not sure if 40-odd people are allowed to go and see him in hospital.

  “We will have to check on that, but I’m just so thankful that he’s OK because that’s all that matters.

  “I wasn’t really able to enjoy any celebration at the end because all I cared about was Locks.”

  As for Coventry, it was a heartbreaking end to a memorable season.

  Bottom of the table in October and taken over at the start of the year, boss Mark Robins was agonisingly close to leading the Sky Blues from League Two to the top flight.

  “Firstly, congratulations to Luton because once the game is over and done with you’ve got to congratulate the winners,” the long-serving Coventry boss said.

  “They’ve come out on top today, however tight the game may have been.

  “Congratulations to them and their supporters. I think they have been outstanding all season and good luck to them moving forward.

  “I think for us, certainly the opposite of their joy is pain.

  “You certainly feel a bit of pain, but once that pain starts to dissipate in however long it takes for it to go, we’ve got to reflect on what an unbelievable achievement it’s been just to even be here today in a play-off final.

  “The division is very, very tough as we all know and unfortunately we couldn’t make that next step.”

• Graham Alexander keen to bring success to MK Dons after landing head coach role

  MK Dons have appointed Graham Alexander as their new head coach.

  The 51-year-old former Fleetwood, Scunthorpe, Salford and Motherwell manager replaces Mark Jackson, who was sacked earlier this month after the club were relegated to Sky Bet League Two.

  Alexander, who will be assisted by ex-Bury boss Chris Lucketti, told the Dons’ official website: “I’m grateful to the club for showing faith in me and providing me with this fantastic opportunity.

  “This is, of course, a club with great potential, though we know we need to win on the pitch to justify everything we’ve got off it – that’s what me and Chris are here to do.

  “That will require a lot of hard work but we are both committed and driven to try and bring success to MK Dons.”

  Former Preston, Burnley and Scotland defender Alexander left Motherwell by mutual consent last summer after their Europa Conference League exit.

  He has twice won promotion as a manager with previous clubs Fleetwood and Salford.

  Dons chairman Pete Winkelman added: “This is a start of a new chapter for us.

  “Graham ticked all the boxes for us following a lengthy and thorough process, and he brings with him the football experience and success, both as a player and as a manager, that we demanded of our next head coach.”