Gareth Southgate has postponed discussions regarding his England contract until after the Euros.

Southgate, who stepped in as an interim manager in 2016 and has since led England to notable successes, including a World Cup semi-final and a near victory at Euro 2020, is prioritizing the team’s performance over his personal career plans. He has expressed a complete focus on the task at hand, which is to bring major tournament success to England.

The Football Association (FA) is reportedly prepared to offer Southgate a new contract that would extend his tenure until the 2026 World Cup in North America, reflecting their confidence in his leadership. However, Southgate’s current approach is to avoid any potential distractions that contract talks might bring to the team, thereby removing any additional pressure on the players.

Southgate’s commitment to England’s success at Euro 2024 is evident, and he has made it clear that any discussions about his future with the national team will be held only after the tournament’s conclusion. The England squad, under his guidance, is gearing up for the challenge, with high hopes of achieving glory on the European stage.

“I’m completely relaxed about that (future after the Euros) and I have no idea where we’ll be in the middle of July, other than I hope it’s Trafalgar Square and let’s get the party on. Four lions!” said England boss Southgate.

“I think we would have to sit and think about that at the end of the tournament. I’m happy to talk about it briefly now, but I’m not going to talk about it the whole summer, what’s next.

“We’ve consciously shelved any discussions internally about what might be next, because I think if we had sat and signed a new contract and done that before the tournament, everybody would have said: ‘Well, you did this with Fabio Capello and you should be proving yourself before you sign.”

As alluded to, it is understood that the FA are hoping to avoid the repeat of a storyline in 2010, when then-England boss Capello signed a new contract ahead of the World Cup in South Africa.

Squeezing out of a group containing Slovenia, USA and Algeria, the Three Lions were drawn against Germany in the last 16 and were ultimately eliminated from the competition.

With hopes high around England’s chances of lifting their first major honour since 1966, Southgate is keen to avoid placing any unnecessary stress on his squad.

“I think it has the potential to negatively affect the reaction to the team. The team needs the clearest run they can possibly have at this tournament, so my job is to remove pressure from the team where possible,” claimed Southgate on Thursday afternoon.

“We’ve got to accept some pressure because we’re one of the favourites. But, equally, I don’t want to put anything additional onto the team.”