Southgate knows his job as England's manager is dangerous. Although a contract by the end of 2024 appears safe and has a record of leading the team to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and Euro 2020 finals, the lack of wins in five consecutive games and relegation from the national league's top flight is not a bright end to the road for the 52-year-old.
Speaking at Wembley on Monday, Southgate said: "Contracts have nothing to do with football because managers can sign three-, four-year, five-year contracts and if the results aren't good enough, it's time to part ways. "Why would I be different? I'm not arrogant enough to think that my contract will protect me in any way. ”
Taking over the team after Sam Allardyce's game as head coach and by nurturing a team that can excel in major competitions, he once again made the country a world football powerhouse and this should not be forgotten.
But now, Southgate is in the eye of a storm caused by a bad result that prompted supporters to boo him and his team. His credentials are now being questioned — overly cautious and lacking top tactical ability — and there is a growing voice in the search for his possible replacement.
And that's the main problem facing the British Football Association (FA). If Southgate leaves after the World Cup in Qatar, the list of potential replacements is very small and there is a shortage of convincing candidates.
The same was true in 2016, when Allardyce, who was appointed as Roy Hodgson's replacement, was fired after only one game leading the team.
Now that Southgate is no longer in the FA system and Graham Porter is leaving Brighton for Chelsea, the brilliant British candidate no longer seems to be available.
Of course, Southgate's successor is not necessarily British, but the FA has made it clear on several occasions that it has invested a lot of time and money in developing local coaches and is now committed to ensuring that the senior men's team is run by British.
As a result, when Southgate's tenure ends, the list of candidates will quickly become pitifully small.
Forget about unemployed elite coaches like Thomas Tuchel or Mauricio Pochettino, and don't even think about Manchester City's Pep Guardiola or Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp. While the FA will certainly make an exception for Guardiola or Klopp, which would otherwise be considered extremely arrogant or short-sighted, the cost of hiring any of them is too high and the FA will be forced to look for cheaper but convincing alternatives.
Porter is still one of the candidates to become the next England manager, although his new job at Stamford Bridge is less than a month away. The 47-year-old is considered a beacon in the FA head coach's development system, completing his UEFA professional licence at St George's Park and playing attacking football for his team. But it's the hottest phase of the Champions League game, so it's hard to imagine Porter giving up on it to coach England.
Newcastle's Eddy Howe is second most popular but like Porter, he is in the early stages of the club's work and Newcastle's Saudi Arabian boss is very wealthy, so if he were to coach England, Howe might feel like he picked up sesame seeds and lost the watermelon.
The names of the next candidates are clearly lacking in exceptional talent – Pochettino, Steve Cooper of Nottingham Forest, Brendan Rogers of Leicester and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is now 72 and has not been in charge since leaving the UAE in 2018.
If the FA sticks to its "home-first" approach, none of the above will be considered a suitable candidate, although both Cooper (Wales) and Rogers (Northern Ireland) can be considered to have passed the English language system. Even England U21 coach Lee Casley, despite being born in Birmingham, has won 40 games for the Republic of Ireland. But if Southgate does leave in a few months, there are two of the most obvious candidates, both working in the Premier League and both have once coached St George's Park like Porter, Steven Gerald of Aston Villa and Frank Lampard of Everton.
While Porter and Howe are both strong candidates, neither can surpass the international influence that Gerrard and Lampard have amassed as players, and likewise, they cannot claim to have long-term experience in managing the team under intense pressure, as Gerrard did during his 18-month run at the helm of Rangers and Frank Lampard.
Gerrard's struggles now at Villa and Lampard's failure to win trophies at Chelsea have tarnished the reputation of the two, but it should not be forgotten that Gerald won the Scottish title at Rangers and Lampard gave the youngster the chance to win the Champions League and reach the FA Cup final during the global transfer embargo.
Neither Gerrard nor Lampard are perfect candidates, but so are Porter, Howe and other names mentioned. Perhaps that's why the FA is so eager for Southgate to weather the storm that is now sweeping him. Unless they're ready to start from scratch and put the job in the hands of the best coaches rather than the best homegrown coaches, Southgate may still be the best choice for England.
Qatar 2022 World Cup Recommendations:
England 2022 World Cup squad roster
2022 Qatar World Cup group stage prediction, guess who will reach the round of 16
Southgate's England national team: A few big issues to tackle before the World Cup in Qatar
Brazil's 11-man squad and starting formation prediction for the 2022 World Cup
Qatar 2022 World Cup Group Stage: Easiest and hardest group
Why Argentina and Brazil should be favourites to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
2022 World Cup Winning Probability Prediction! Iran ranks 16th and Asia 1st
2022 Qatar World Cup Group Stage Preview : Group Qualification, Key Factors, Must See Matches, etc