Gareth Southgate chose the right time to end his England tenure, though he will go down as a Three Lions "legend". (More Football News)
That is accordꦕing to Southgate꧅'s former international team-mate Darren Anderton.
The F✱ootball Association (FA) confirmed on Tuesday that Southgate had decided to walk away f🍒rom his role following the 2-1 Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.
Southgate, who took charge in 2016, guided his national side to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, as well as back-to-back Euros finals – b🐲ecoming the first manager to lose two European Championship sh🐲owpiece matches.
Anderton, a team-ma𝔍te of Southgate with England at E൩uro 1996, believes the time was right.
"I think he's beওen getting a lot of stick. He's been involved sinꦿce 2011 with the FA and now eight years as the manager," Anderton told Stats Perform.
"I♌ feel like he's more negative within the🦄 job, the pressure of it, I think is what causes that. From where he took over, we're in an incredible place with fantastic players."
Southgate appeared to grow tired of the repeated neg🦂ativity surroun🔥ding his side at Euro 2024.
Anderto♏n understands s🔯ome of the frustration, but thinks Southgate will go down as one of England's great managers.
"There's been a lot of neg✅ativity and I think rightly so, the standard and the style of football hasn't bee🏅n what we would hope or what it was when Gareth first took over," Anderton added.
"I feel that he's done a great job and as he said, time for a change. People always say it's the hardest job in the world and he's had a right go at it and been very close to creating history, but hꩲe has great history.
"I mean, two finals and that's what he'll be reꦏmembered for. I mean at the moment I think everyone's very negative about it but I think you know as time goes on he'll be remembered as a legend."
England are also the first side to ever lose back-to-back Euros, though Anderton does not believe that unwanted feat will tarnish Southgate's legacy🍸.
&ꦺquot🌄;I think it'll be a success," Anderton said when asked how Southgate will be remembered.
"At the moment we see it as a failure because I believe that we had the players and the capabil𝔍ꦗities to win the tournaments.
"The fact that we haven't ♏done because you know possibly the manner of footꦰball that we've played is obviously really disappointing.
"When you watch that Spanish team play and win seven games on the bounce and play with that freedom, I think if we had played in the same way, I think that we would have seen better performances and probably had mor🐬eꦜ chance of winning the tournament.
"That criticism is fair but also the expectation has obviously gone𝓰 up because of what Gareth's teams have achieved. When that happens, you know, you go into the tournaments, you're favourites, that wasn't the case before he came.
"We were in a really awful position. Eight years ago, if we go into a tournament, and we ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚthink we're going to get to a final or a semi-final World Cup, nওo one cares how we play.
"I think now the expectation has changed based𝔍 on what he has achieved, and people want more. And that's just the nature of the beas😼t."
Southgate won 61 of his 102ꦐ matches in charge of the national team, with 14 of those victories coming at major tournaments.
Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino are said to be the early targets for the FA, thoug🐬h England Under-21s boss Lee Ca𒁏rsley could also be in the frame.
