Gareth Southgate will be confirmed as England’s next permanent manager before the end of the month on a four-year contract, "with formal discussions over his appointment expected to start early next week," according to Dominic Fifield of the London GUARDIAN. The former U21 coach completed his four-match stint in interim charge with a draw against Spain at Wembley on Tuesday, after victories against Malta and Scotland and a stalemate in Slovenia that "secured England’s position" at the top of its World Cup qualifying group. The 46-year-old is "taking a few days off before a meeting, scheduled for the start of next week, to review his spell in temporary charge but is effectively considered the only candidate" to succeed Sam Allardyce. A five-man committee -- comprising FA CEO Martin Glenn, Chair Greg Clarke, Technical Dir Dan Ashworth, League Managers' Association Chair Howard Wilkinson and former England left-back Graeme Le Saux -- was set up in October to determine the succession. They are expected to "meet formally for the first time before the weekend." Glenn: "We will take a bit of time to reflect, but hopefully not too long. It’s important we build the right platform for success in the future. We just need to weigh up all the facts and take the time to make the right decision. Gareth is a really strong candidate and clearly, after the last four games, his candidacy has become much stronger. Not just based on one or two matches, but because of what we’ve seen over the last couple of years. He’s got renewed confidence and is a different manager to what he was two years ago." There will be talks with Southgate’s representatives over a salary, "though he and his camp have accepted that, as an internal candidate, he will not command the same wage as that paid to his recent predecessors." Roy Hodgson earned £3.5M a year and Allardyce was due to receive an annual salary of £3M ($3.7M). Southgate's is "likely to fall nearer" £1.5M ($1.86M) a year (GUARDIAN, 11/16).
