Paul Scholes backs Thomas Tuchel appointment with English coaching ‘struggling’

Former England midfielder Paul Scholes has backed Thomas Tuchel to get it right with England because he has the aura of a winner.

The German’s appointment has sparked a debate over the lack of English candidates for the job, with Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and former Chelsea and Brighton counterpart Graham Potter the leading contenders from that field.

However, Scholes believes neither yet has the proven track record to compete with Tuchel.

Scholes said: “I think they would be able to do it, but they don’t have the credentials. They won’t have the same presence, like Thomas Tuchel.

“England are good until they play a good team. Thomas Tuchel, he’s proven.

“The paths England have had to get through to finals has been quite simple. But then there is one of those games where as soon as you play a quality team, like Croatia, Spain or Italy, you come unstuck. I think this could be the man who takes us there.”

Scholes admitted an Englishman would have been his preferred choice, but that Tuchel was the best coach available with Pep Guardiola beyond the Football Association’s grasp.

He said: “You’d prefer it to be an English coach, but is that English coach out there? I think they have got the best out there that was available. He suits the type of players that we’ve got. He’s very much possession based.

“Eddie Howe – I think he still has things to do in club football before he takes on the job. I still think Thomas Tuchel, to some extent, has got a few years to prove as a club manager because he’s had 18-month stints here and there.

“The first manager I said [to take the role] was Pep Guardiola. It’s the right stage for him – he’s done it at big clubs for a number of years.”

However, Scholes’ former Manchester United and England team-mate Gary Neville revealed that he would have opted for either Howe or Potter to maintain the pathway the FA put in place during his time as a coach in the international set-up.

Neville said: “This is not an anti-Thomas Tuchel agenda, it’s purely around the fact that English coaches are struggling to build an identity, not just in this country but in Europe as well. So, if we can’t appoint an English coach to the national job, where are we putting our belief system in terms of what we’re doing?

“Ultimately, I will support Thomas Tuchel and I’m desperate for England to win a tournament, but just think going back to where we were with [Fabio] Capello and Sven [Goran Eriksson], I didn’t think we’d revisit that again.

“I thought we’d say that the England manager has to be English moving forward because English coaching is struggling at this moment in time.”

Asked who he would have chosen, Neville replied: “Probably would have been Eddie Howe or Graham Potter. They would have been one of the two I would have gone for.”

::Paul Scholes and Gary Neville were speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.