Eddie Howe says he was not interviewed for the England head coach position, but the Newcastle manager has not ruled himself out of being national team boss one day.
The Football Association announced on Wednesday that Thomas Tuchel was the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, with the 51-year-old German having signed an 18-month contract through to the 2026 World Cup finals.
Magpies boss Howe was arguably the strongest English candidate in terms of his CV, but when asked on Friday whether he had been interviewed for the position, he said: “No, I wasn’t.”
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said “approximately 10” candidates had been interviewed, including some from England.
Howe said he was glad the “distraction” over who would succeed Southgate was at an end, but said he might be interested in the future.
“There was no-one more pleased than me to see Thomas get the job, really, and take it because it’s just a distraction – not that it distracts me, but you can see it’s unsettling at times when certain things are said and written about.
“The more that everyone can focus on Newcastle – which has always been my only concern – the better.”
Asked whether he might be interested one day, Howe said: “Who knows? I’ve always said that you can never predict what’s going to happen in management, you can never plan too far ahead. I certainly don’t.
“I’m a day-to-day planner, while certainly acknowledging that Newcastle – I’ve always said this – has a future and we have to make sure we make the right decisions long term.
“But the job takes so many twists and turns, you can’t look too far ahead. I think that’s negative, actually, if you do that, so in terms of my own career and what’s five, 10 years ahead, I don’t know, I’ve got no idea.
“But I’d never say that managing England isn’t something I’d like to do maybe one day if given the opportunity, but my focus is Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle.”
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