The FA has prepared a 'succession plan' for Gareth Southgate's exit from England.

The Football Association has not yet spoken with any prospective successors to Gareth Southgate, nor has it received any approaches for the England manager, but they insist a succession plan is in place. The 53-year-old has stated unequivocally that he will leave the role after Euro 2024 unless the squad wins the competition, and even that may not retain him in the position. Regardless of what occurs, the FA will continue to examine the tournament as a whole, and they will naturally want to keep Southgate. That sentiment is shared by the team.

Should Southgate leave, Newcastle United's Eddie Howe is expected to be the first option replacement, with Graham Potter also a strong contender. During a press conference on the first day of media responsibilities at England's base camp in Blankenheim, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham responded "no" when asked about talks with any potential successor.

"We are sitting down after the tournament together and will talk about everything."

Southgate is a long-term priority for Manchester United, who confirmed Erik ten Hag's stay for another season on Tuesday evening. When asked about the situation and any potential moves for England's manager, Bullingham stated, "I've received no approaches about him. There have been no approaches.

Bullingham confirmed that a succession plan is in place, albeit in a broad sense.

"I've previously stated that each organization should have a succession plan in place for its senior workers, and we are no exception. This succession plan often encompasses everything from what you do for short-term cover to the process you use to choose candidates. We have it for our top staff. That is the same as we have. That is all I have to say on the subject without completely aggravating you. I want to respect Gareth and the squad for their dedication to the competition, and we want to assist them in that regard. Clearly, you arrange a variety of scenarios for each of your best employees on a regular basis."

Bullingham avoided the question of whether any future England manager would come through a St George's Park pipeline.

"We've got two senior coaches. One is English, and the other is not. Any federation in the world would always like to have a pool of great domestic talent playing and managing at all times."

Otherwise, Bullingham reiterated the message that Southgate does not want to address the future until after Euro 2024, but hinted that the FA is unlikely to view it in the same "win or bust" manner as the manager.

What I'd say is that Gareth has made it quite clear that he wants to discuss it after the tournament. I don't want to distract him or the team. I respect the fact that they want to discuss the future after the tournament. I'll say something I've said before: I think the world of Gareth; I think he's done an incredible job; I think he's transformed the fortunes of our men's senior team, and that's not just off the pitch, as many people talk about, but you can see the culture as well as the performances on the field.

Since 1966, he has won around half of our knockout games, which is a metric we employ. You know how much we value him.

Gareth Southgate has led England's men's team to their greatest performance in a major tournament since 1966.

"I know why people would love for there to always be a really arbitrary level but I don't think you can set one for any tournament with any manager that you judge because you could go further but be playing poorly or have a really unlucky result where you get a couple of red cards so I think setting an arbitrary figure isn't the right way to go, I think we step back and look at everything after the tournament."That is why, generally, foreign manager contracts expire 10 days after the tournament or something, but you know we have more than that.

"What I'm saying is we will evaluate everything after the tournament, see how he feels, see how we feel and see how the tournament has gone."

"We have been upfront with our targets and our goals and we were fortunate enough to win a tournament a couple of years ago."Of course, you do everything you can to win a tournament, but we'll reassess it after this one." Bullingham also highlighted Southgate's focus.

"I do not believe that is distracting for him. I think he's used to it; he's in a terrific situation and is quite upbeat."

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