Gareth Southgate has stepped down from his role as a pundit for ITV to concentrate on his new position as England Under-21 manager. The 42-year-old, who took over from Stuart Pearce, will take charge of his first match on Thursday evening as England begin their Euro 2015 qualification campaign against Moldova at the Madejski Stadium.
Southgate revealed that he felt awkward about applying for the role without first speaking to Pearce, his former England teammate. 'I have spoken to him three or four times over the last month and he has been brilliant with me,' Southgate said. 'He always said it was a job he loved doing. I didn't play with anybody who was more passionate and prepared to give everything for his country than Stuart.'
The former defender added that Pearce's encouragement made it acceptable for him to apply. 'I would have been a little bit uncomfortable applying for it had we not had that conversation because we know each other so well,' he said. Southgate also recalled a memorable night during Euro 96 when Pearce took him to a Sex Pistols reunion concert in London's Finsbury Park. 'We played with each other for years in the back four so you do get to know someone pretty well. He might call it a concert, but it was the Sex Pistols and I am still recovering,' he joked.
Explaining his decision to leave ITV, Southgate said: 'There are two reasons why I have given it up. One, this is a full time job and when I was working for the FA previously I was only doing a couple of days a week. Also, I didn't want people thinking that if it wasn't going well I had the life raft, and in my mind I wanted to be a coach and a manager full time. I wanted to show I am fully committed to the job.'
