Gareth Southgate says he is not “limiting his future options” to just returning to football coaching.
The 54-year-old has been without a job since leaving his role as England manager in July following eight years in charge of the national team.
However, despite several reports linking him with a return to the game, Southgate says going back to coaching is not the only option available to him as he ponders the next step he should take in his career.
In a post on LinkedIn, he said: “After eight years serving in one of the highest profile roles in world football, I’m consciously taking time to reflect on what I lived through and thinking deeply about what comes next.
“Looking back there are matches and moments I will remember for the rest of my life. Coaching top players was a challenge that pushed me to operate at the very highest level.
“The weight of the role with the unique responsibility it carried was something few ever get to experience. Perhaps the hardest thing of all to replicate though, is going to be the sense of purpose.
“This higher purpose (from being England manager) kept me on track, gave me structure, made my life more fulfilling and is going to be extremely difficult to replicate.
“It’s why I’m not limiting my future options to remaining as a football coach.”
After a 17-year playing career that saw him make 557 appearances for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesborough as well as playing 57 times for England, Southgate retired in 2006.
He managed his former club Middlesbrough for three years between 2006 and 2009. He then became England academy manager in 2011, before three years as under-21 manager in 2013 and then finally becoming first team manager in 2016.
During his eight years in charge of the England first team, he led the side to two European Championship finals, as well as the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup and a fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.
In October, Southgate said that he intended to have a year away from coaching.
Southgate continued: “As part of working out what comes next, I’ve really enjoyed picking the brains of some outstanding people. By offering them a blank canvas great conversations have developed and a flow of ideas I’d never contemplated.
“I’m comfortable with this period of ‘exploration’ and not having all the answers. I’m following the advice I would give to any young person, without a clear career vision.
“Keep learning, build or explore your network, seek different life experiences and when you decide what’s next, there will be no right or wrong, just one path or another.
“For now, I’m finding my required purpose within all that being able to dial up the days supporting my chosen charities. It’s my intention to identify people I want to work with and projects and passions I want to work on.
“I will be putting purpose high on my list of considerations, because in those difficult moments we all face, the purpose will keep us going.”
(Top photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
