Aidy Boothroyd is stepping down as manager of England U21s, the Football Association has announced, with European Championship failure in 2021 bringing his five-year reign to a close.
The Young Lions will not be in the knockout stages of the major championship this summer after being sent packing at the group stage thanks to a dramatic late goal from their opponents in a 2-1 victory over Croatia which saw a quarter-final spot fall agonisingly out of reach.
Boothroyd can look back on success at the 2018 Toulon Tournament, while a number of promising talents have made a step up into the senior squad.
What has been said?
Boothroyd, who joined the set-up at St George's Park in February 2014 and won 31 of his 48 games as U21 boss, told the FA's official website: “It's been the greatest privilege to represent the FA and lead England teams into high-profile tournaments.
"While we didn’t finish in the way we wanted, I'm very proud to have been able to work so closely with players who I know will go on to have remarkable international careers and to have experienced some very special moments with them over the years.
"I'd like to thank my staff and all of the incredible support team that have done so much to help us remain competitive against other elite nations. In every single get-together they embraced our unique challenge of rightly prioritising the needs of the senior team while ensuring we gave our all to try and get a positive performance and result."
The bigger picture
Boothroyd initially worked with the England U19 and U20 teams before succeeding Gareth Southgate as U21 coach in 2016.
The current manager of the senior side said: "I’d like to thank Aidy for his wholehearted support and dedication to developing English players and coaches across the last seven years.
"His pride in working with all of our development teams has shone through and his support of the senior team has been greatly appreciated. I wish him every success on the next step of his career.”
The FA is now ready to begin its search for Boothroyd's successor, with the qualification campaign for the 2023 European U21 Championship set to get underway in September.
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