Gary Lineker backs Frank Lampard as Gareth Southgate successor

Gary Lineker has backed Frank Lampard to succeed Gareth Southgate as England manager.

Lineker predicted Southgate would quit his job even if he won the European Championship after leading his country to another semi-final at a major tournament.

The BBC Match of the Day host gave Lampard a ringing endorsement following the former Chelsea player and manager’s punditry during England’s quarter-final penalty shoot-out win over Switzerland on Saturday.

Speaking on his The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker – who had previously suggested Southgate was “tactically inept” –  said: “This will be Gareth Southgate’s last tournament, I think, whatever happens. If he wins, I think he’ll absolutely bow out.

“And if he doesn’t then I think he’ll bow out. It’ll be his decision. But I wouldn’t disregard Frank Lampard. I think he tactically gets it. I think the players will respect him immediately. I’m getting ahead of things here.

“If you’re going to go English, you go, like, who else? Eddie Howe? Eddie Howe, possibly?”

Lampard has not managed since being Chelsea’s interim manager over at the end of the 2022-23 season, having been sacked by Everton earlier that campaign.

Lineker added: “I think he’s been a bit unlucky in his managerial career in some ways. I think he gets it tactically.”

Podcast co-host Micah Richards added of the former Derby County manager: “When he went to Derby, I think the feeling was he played really good football, but it should have got them up. He went to Chelsea [during] the transfer embargo and still managed to get top four, with all the bringing the young players through, [Tammy] Abraham, [Mason] Mount, etc. etc. Then he went to Everton, kept them up.

“It wasn’t the great style of play, but it utilised what he had available to him. He goes, obviously, back to Chelsea. I think that was the one where people were judging him.”

Richards lavished praise on Lampard’s analysis during the England-Switzerland game, saying: “Frank’s analysis was about three minutes. And, normally, if someone goes that deep, after maybe two minutes, you’ve lost interest. But I was glued to it for three minutes. And you can tell he’s just got something. He’s articulate. The way he explains points. You can tell there’s a manager there inside of him.”

Lineker added: “That three minutes Frank did was amazing.”