'Very close to footballing immortality' - Gary Lineker reacts to Gareth Southgate's England exit just three weeks after 'sh*t' assessment of national team at Euro 2024

Southgate has, after suffering defeat in a second successive European Championship final defeat, decided to step down from the most demanding of managerial roles. He had been at the helm since 2016, taking in 102 games while coming as close as anybody to ending a barren run on the trophy front for England’s men’s team.

While he may not have boasted universal support among England's fans base, Southgate’s record speaks for itself and he walks away with his head held high. Praise has rained down on the affable 53-year-old in the wake of his decision to cut short a contract that was due to run until the end of the calendar year.

Ex-England international striker Lineker has added his voice to those saluting the efforts of a man that succeeded where many others have failed in finding comfort on the warmest of hot-seats: “Wishing Gareth Southgate all the very best in the future. He brought pride, respect and a togetherness to England that we hadn’t seen for a long time. He was close, very close to footballing immortality and he always did the job with humility, decency and dignity. Thank you, Gareth.”

While happy to talk up Southgate’s achievements, it was only three weeks ago that Lineker delivered a “sh*t” assessment of England’s performances during the Euro 2024 group stage. They found a way of battling through to the final, only to suffer a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Spain with long-awaited major silverware up for grabs.