He had been one of the favourites when the FA started their search
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has said he wasn’t contacted by the Football Association as they searched for a new England manager.
The news comes after FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said they had ‘interviewed approximately 10 people’ including ‘some English candidates’ before settling on German manager Thomas Tuchel.
The former Chelsea boss was appointed on Wednesday after speculation grew over whether interim Lee Carsley would take up the reins permanently.
Howe is just one of only three English managers currently in the Premier League and was a front runner for the role after Gareth Southgate left in the summer.
However, Howe has confirmed that he was never spoken to.
On Friday he was asked by reporters if he was interviewed for the England job to which he replied: “I was not. There was no contact from the FA.”
He was pressed on whether that bothered him, he said: “England have to do what is right for them and only they will know the processes they have gone through and the decisions they have made. I am certainly not the type of person that is going to analyse that.
“For me, it’s about Newcastle and trying to win games and it’s hard enough to do that if you are 100% focused, and I will always remain that way to my work. If you drop your levels, then the job becomes impossible and at no stage have I allowed myself to do that.”
Howe, like many, was vocal about preferring the new England manager to be English but praised Tuchel, who he shadowed while the 51-year-old was manager of Chelsea.
He said: “I’ve got a relationship with Thomas, and I was lucky enough to go and see him work at Chelsea when I was out of work.
“What a brilliant guy. What a great person. What a great coach.
“I had two days with him and thought he was fascinating, and I wish him well. I think he’s a great appointment and I hope he leads England to many trophies.
“My preference would have been for an English coach but if you are going to go foreign then go for the best and Thomas is certainly that.”
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Tuchel became only the third non-English manager to take charge of the Three Lions after Swedish manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
It has raised concerns over the pathway for English managers to elite level jobs.
Former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer said he was surprised Howe hadn’t been approached.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer commented on Tuchel’s appointment: “If he is the outstanding candidate, yeah. But what would be a little bit of a concern is the pathway for English coaches.
“I’m happy in a way because Newcastle are not losing their manager. [Howe] is an outstanding manager and would have been the main English candidate for me. To know he has not even been sounded out is very surprising.”
Tuchel’s first matches in charge will be in March next year when he will oversee two 2026 World Cup qualifiers though England’s opponents are not yet known.
