|
World Cup winner Paul Simpson insists English coaches are proving they are good enough to take the top jobs. The former Carlisle boss guided the England under-20s to World Cup glory in South Korea earlier this month. Now under-21 manager Aidy Boothroyd is one game away from the Euro 2017 final, with the Young Lions featuring in Tuesday's semifinals against Germany in Tychy. Boothroyd joined the Football Association just months after being sacked by Northampton in 2013, with the Cobblers bottom of the Football League. He had been criticised for employing a direct style during his club management career, but Simpson believes Boothroyd and others -- including under-17 boss Steve Cooper -- are showing they can cut it. He said: "A coach can coach whichever way they want to or are asked to, and Aidy has shown that with the FA, as have all the national coaches. We've got a really good group of national coaches, all from different backgrounds. "We talk about English players not getting opportunities at the highest level, you can say the same about English coaches. But there is no point moaning about it. "We've got to show we are good enough to get top jobs, and if we do that the big job offers will come. And hopefully the trend of looking to appoint managers from overseas all the time will buck. "Don't get me wrong, there are some top foreign coaches and managers around, but I think we've got some good English ones as well." Cooper also guided the under-17s to the final of their European Championships in May, where they lost to Spain on penalties. Simpson's England side beat Venezuela 1-0 in the final in South Korea, after a 3-1 semifinal win over Italy, to become world champions -- the first Three Lions team to do so since 1966. And Simpson, who has also managed Preston and Shrewsbury, offered advice to Boothroyd and the squad over how to handle their last-four tie in Poland. "The first thing they have to do is get recovered. When you are at a tournament, especially the development ones, the games come thick and fast," he said. "The Under-21s are in a fortunate position that they have had an extra day or two to recover. We have got to make sure we approach this game in the same way we have done the previous one. "We can't be anxious, we have to be positive about the way we go and play, confident in the way we play and just see what happens. They have nothing to be apprehensive about." Simpson, was previously turned down for a role as an under-14 coach at Manchester City, and is delighted English football is undergoing a resurgence. "Well, I wouldn't have been invited to Poland to co-commentate on the under-21s had we not won in South Korea, that's for sure," said the 50-year-old, who was working for the BBC in Kielce. "There have been so many summers when we've had disappointments with the development teams and the seniors so this is a lovely change and long may it continue."
|
