Gareth Southgate is on a mission to help British coaches go global

GUIMARAES, PORTUGAL — England manager Gareth Southgate and his assistant Steve Holland are trying to change the perception of British coaches abroad who, they believe, do not currently garner enough respect.

The top of the English game is dominated by foreign managers. The Big Six are managed by two Spaniards, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Arsenal’s Unai Emery; a German, Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool; an Italian, while Chelsea’s Maurizio Sarri remains in charge; an Argentine, Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs; and a Norwegian at Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Since taking over as England’s manager, Southgate has travelled the world learning coaching methods from a wide range of sports and believes the success of the England team under his stewardship – reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup last summer and the Nations League finals this week – is helping to promote the quality of British coaching to a worldwide audience.

‘We have outstanding coaches’

“I don’t think me or Gareth want to sound like heroes, but we are very proud of being English,” said Holland, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live ahead of tomorrow’s Nations League semi-final against the Netherlands.

“For many years now our [English coaches’] reputation abroad has not been great, for whatever reason, as players and coaches. Frankly, it is something we are very passionate about changing the perception of at the highest level because we have good coaches at this level. We have outstanding coaches in this country at youth level and senior level, we have good young players and senior players – we are an amazing football nation, we really are.”

This could be the beginning of a shift in perception although, if so, it is only in its earliest stages. Next season, Chris Wilder at Sheffield United, Brighton’s Graham Potter and Aston Villa boss Dean Smith will all be new additions representing British coaching in the Premier League.

High-profile recent former England players, Frank Lampard at Derby County and Steven Gerrard at Rangers, have also started their managerial careers promisingly.

“We can have a third or fourth division final at Wembley and fill it,” Holland added. “There is no other club or country in the world that has that depth of feeling throughout the nation. It is something that we are very conscious of and hopefully we can affect that – we have affected that – in the future because the level of coaching and coaches and players in this country deserves a little more respect than they have perhaps been getting in recent years.”