New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS): Following the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, England’s third ever foreign head coach, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville is skeptical of the Football Association’s decision claiming former coach ‘Gareth Southgate had restored a faith in English players and manager ability.’

"They’ve got a great coach, that is of no doubt. The FA cannot be any way criticised as they’ve probably got the best available coach in the world right now. I am not sure it fits the criteria of St George’s Park and the belief in English managers. It’s tough to get those jobs high in the Premier League still. So there is an element of disappointment in my head that they have gone to an international coach.

“The challenge for me is that I worked with Capello and Sven-Goran Eriksson, but I came to the conclusion that the damage to English coaching was significant. If we are not going to promote them in our own country then we can’t ask others to around Europe. Gareth Southgate had restored a faith in English players and manager ability," said Neville on Sky Sports.

Tuchel will begin his tenure in January 2025 ahead of the qualification process for the following year’s FIFA World Cup finals, due to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Tuchel returned to English football after a trophy-laden period with Chelsea whom he led to become European and world champions, having also been successful at elite level in Germany and France. In addition, he was voted UEFA and FIFA’s coach of the year in 2021 in recognition of his work in England.

Tuchel’s impressive list of coaching honours includes league titles in France and Germany, twice with Paris Saint-Germain and most recently with Bayern Munich in the 2022/23 season, having won his first major trophy in 2017 when Borussia Dortmund lifted the German Cup.