West Ham United captain Declan Rice has publicly pleaded for Gareth Southgate to stay on as England manager in the wake of their World Cup exit.
The 52-year-old led his nation to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup before ending England's 55-year wait for another major tournament final at Euro 2020.
Southgate became the first England men's manager since Sir Alf Ramsey to lead the Three Lions to a showpiece event, although he has been unable to end their agonising wait for another trophy.
England's run at the 2022 World Cup came to a bitter end with quarter-final defeat to reigning champions France on Saturday, as Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud struck either side of a Harry Kane penalty in a 2-1 win for Les Bleus.
Speculation over Southgate's future has been hotting up in the wake of the Three Lions' defeat, although the former Middlesbrough boss remains under contract with the world's fifth-ranked nation until December 2024.
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Speaking to reporters after the game, Rice insisted that Southgate's tactical decisions against France were "spot on", and he wants to continue playing under the 52-year-old for his country.
"For me personally I hope it stays. I don't know and there's a lot of talk around that. But I think he has been brilliant for us and I think there's a lot of criticism that's not deserved," The Athletic quotes Rice as saying.
"He has taken us so, so far; further than people can expect. Tonight he got everything spot on and it's not on him. The tactics were right, we played the right way, we were aggressive and we stopped Mbappe, who was quiet.
"It was two goals against the run of play and that's not down to the manager, it's up to us on the pitch. I really hope he stays because the core group that we've got and what he has made for us is so special and I love playing for him and I love playing for England."
Southgate admitted before the tournament that his job could come under threat if he failed to take England far enough in Qatar, and he was inevitably questioned on his next career move on Saturday evening.
However, Southgate was unsurprisingly in no mood to discuss his contract situation and is prepared to take "a bit of time" before coming to a final decision.
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"I think whenever I've finished these tournaments I've needed time to make correct decisions because emotionally you go through so many different feelings and the energy that it takes through these tournaments is enormous," Southgate added.
"I want to make the right decision, whenever that is, for the team, for England, for the FA, and I've got to be sure whatever the decision I take is the right one.
"I think it's right to take a bit of time to do that because I know in the past how my feelings have fluctuated in the immediate aftermath of tournaments."
Numerous managers have left their positions in the aftermath of a 2022 World Cup exit, namely Belgium's Roberto Martinez, Brazil's Tite and Spain's Luis Enrique.
Louis van Gaal has also stepped down after his Netherlands' side lost to Argentina in the last eight, as have South Korea's Paulo Bento, Ghana's Otto Addo and Mexico's Gerard Martino.
Southgate has a record of 52 wins, 15 draws and 15 defeats from his 82 games in charge of England, who will take on reigning European champions Italy, Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia in their Euro 2024 qualifying group next year.
Ben Knapton
