Gareth Southgate has ruled himself out of the riunning for the Swansea City job

Southgate was one of the people backed early doors moving him up the betting order but - speaking from South Africa where he is with ITV for the World Cup - he effectively ruled himself out of the running when he said that he was unsure of whether he wanted to return to management or not.

Southgate told the Western Mail, “Obviously I know a few people down at Swansea

“But I must admit, because I am with ITV until the end of the World Cup, I haven’t thought seriously about anything to do with management this summer.

“I am still trying to work out what I want to do next.

“I need to work out if I want to be applying for jobs in football or whether I would rather stay on the outside for a while.

“When I first left Middlesbrough I said I wanted to get back into management as soon as possible.

“But that has changed a bit now because I am really enjoying the work I have been doing.

“I had been involved in football non-stop for 24 years so it’s been nice to do something different.

“I have a young family too so it has been good to have a lot more time with them as well.

“I honestly don’t know what I want to do at the moment.

“I will keep my options open but I suspect that, because of the timing, I wouldn’t be the right man for them.

“That isn’t a reflection of what I think about Swansea though. I would say that about any club at the moment.

“You can see how well the last two managers have done there.

“It’s a club that’s made a lot of progress so it’s an attractive job and I’m sure there will be a lot of applicants.”

Photo: Action Images

Queens Park Rangers Polls