Phil Neville hanging on for Team GB role at rescheduled Olympics

Phil Neville has confirmed he wants the Football Association to make him manager of the Great Britain team for next summer’s Olympic games in Tokyo even though he has already decided to step down as England’s head coach.

Neville returned from a chastening SheBelieves Cup tournament back in March, where England were beaten by both the United States and Spain, to announce he would not be extending his contract beyond the summer of 2021.

That came as a surprise to the FA who had continued to back Neville, both publicly and privately, despite a poor run of form since the World Cup which had brought only three wins in 10 games.

Neville had said he would know when the time was right to leave the England role, but rather than step down immediately, he will continue for another season to ensure the FA nominates him for the Olympic role.

“Nothing has changed in my focus,” said Neville. “I’m going to honour my contract. There has been a lot of speculation and stuff going on as far as the players are concerned but my commitment to the team and the FA is there for all to see. I’m going to finish the journey I started two years ago.

“In that cycle, there was the World Cup, the Olympics and the European Championship. Unfortunately, because of the Covid situation I won’t be here for that but I would still like to go to the Olympics and I am having those conversations and a decision will be made soon. I’m focused and calm about that.

“It wasn’t a difficult decision to make [to leave next year]. After the SheBelieves I was angry and disappointed with the results and ultimately the buck stops with me. I wasn’t getting the team to play how I wanted them to play. We haven’t played football since and it was a great period of reflection.

“I’ve started this incredible journey, I always wanted to stay for three years as an international manager. I’m young and I’ve got great energy, so it was the perfect time to go. I’m just glad I can see it through.”

Asked if England were a better team now than they were when he took over, Neville was modest in his own appraisal.

“I will be judged where we are in the world and what we have achieved,” said Neville. “When I took over, the previous manager Mark Sampson had done an incredible job getting us to third in the World Cup and the semi-final of the Euros. He doesn’t get the credit he probably deserves .

“I wanted to win a tournament, I made no secret of that and I wanted to give the players a challenge and I think I’ve done that. That will continue for the next six or seven months.

“I want to go to the Olympics. We would have just been coming back from Japan if Covid hadn’t caused it to be postponed. It’s still a massive ambition of mine. The FA know that, we are talking and I think the decision will be made quickly. The players need to know which manager they need to impress. The FA will announce their decision sooner rather than later.”