Former England boss Gareth Southgate has broken his silence in response to criticism aimed towards him by ex-international striker Gary Lineker, following their Euro 2024 final heartbreak.
The BBC presenter claimed that Southgate had wilfully ignored advice regarding team selection choices, saying “we told you so!” on a recent episode of his ‘Rest is Football’ podcast after praising Lee Carsley for seemingly correcting Southgate’s perceived errors.
When appearing for a live TV interview on Wednesday, Southgate was asked about Lineker’s comments and quizzed on his reaction after the 63-year-old aimed “digs this week.”
Sky News’ Jayne Secker asked: “Can I ask you about Gary Lineker specifically. He made quite a lot of comments over the Euros and he’s still getting digs in this week. He said ‘I told you so’ about your player choices, what do you feel about that?”
Southgate issued a blunt response to the initial question and insisted there is “no point” in engaging with Lineker now that he has left the role.
“I’ve really shut myself off from everything since I left. There’s no point in me talking about the team now,” Southgate said.
“It’s for me to let other people take over and to give them the space to take the team on to the next challenges. And there’s no point in me getting involved in anything like that [Lineker’s comments].
“I think it’s important in these moments that I left on good terms with everybody. I loved the experience but also it’s time to go and do other things now.”
Southgate stepped down from his role as head coach after nearly eight years in the job after guiding England to two European Championship final appearances, as well as a World Cup semi-final. But his choices came under fire at Euro 2024, with divisive calls such as leaving Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford out his squad.
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