Southgate insists he would have performed better than other managers who failed at the 'big clubs'

Martin Macdonald

• 28 Feb 2026 05:00 CST
• 3 min read

News

Gareth Southgate believes he could have done a better job than some of his contemporaries who failed at big clubs in England.

Ever since Southgate left his post as England manager, he has been linked with numerous high-profile jobs, most notably at Manchester United on a couple of occasions.

He was linked with the job at Old Trafford very recently when Ruben Amorim was sacked, though the club opted to bring in Michael Carrick on an interim basis until the end of the season.

While Southgate was England manager, every club in the 'Big Six' changed manager at least one time apart from Manchester City, who had Pep Guardiola.

Plenty of big-name managers failed at these clubs in that period, including Amorim, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Erik ten Hag, Mauricio Pochettino, Graham Potter and Enzo Maresca.

Though Southgate has no plans to return to club management at the moment, he says he can take some satisfaction that he would have done a better job than some of the above.

“I’ve got no passion to just go and manage in the Premier League," he said on the Football Boardroom podcast.

"I did that at 35, I finished 11th, 12th. Who is in those positions now, probably Bournemouth, Brighton?

“So I don’t feel the need to just go and do it to say I’ve managed in the Premier League. I’ve had one of the biggest jobs in world football so I’ve been spoiled. Huge nights, working with outstanding players. No owner interfering.

“The bit that, externally, people are saying is, ‘well, he didn’t win’. So how do you prove that you can win? You’ve got to one of those big clubs.

“Now we know those big clubs… do I think I could have done the job that some people who have been in those clubs recently have done? Could I do better? I think I could.

“But we’ve talked about the baggage that comes with me as an appointment if you’re an owner. And there’s a reality around (that), I can understand what that noise is. There’s that bit which makes me potentially a complicated appointment for a club.”

Southgate to steady the ship at Man Utd

Various pundits suggested Southgate for the Man Utd job when Amorim left including club legend Teddy Sheringham, who reckoned the former England boss could calm things down at the Old Trafford circus.

"If you look at some of the high-profile managers who have been at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson left, a lot of them have come in and unsuccessfully tried to take the club forward in their own way," Sheringham explained.

"I know some United fans had reservations over Gareth Southgate due to his style of play, but having looked at what he achieved with England, he could be the man to steady the ship at Old Trafford.

“Manchester United are the pinnacle of English football, and I think Southgate will understand the enormity of the task having been the manager of England for eight years. He’d understand the pressure that would come with the task and he’d be in a better place to take on the mantle of getting United back to where they belong. You could do a lot worse than getting Gareth in to restructure the whole place.”

Carrick is now in charge of United and is apparently the favourite to take over on a permanent basis following an excellent start to his tenure, which has included vital wins against Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal.

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