Russell Martin left unimpressed with England's Thomas Tuchel decision

Despite reaching the finals of the Euro 2024, there had been a lot of uncertainties surrounding the England national team. Former manager Gareth Southgate left his head coach role after eight years, and Lee Carsley became England's first-team head coach. However, a surprise last-minute 2-1 defeat against Greece and England's second position in UEFA Nations League Group B, led them to make an immediate managerial decision. 

Chelsea's former UEFA Champions League winning manager Thomas Tuchel was appointed as the new England head coach, and he became their third foreign manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. While Tuchel has enjoyed various successes while managing top European clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, this is his first managerial role in international football.

Further, this decision has been surprising given that top English managers such as Eddie Howe and Sean Dyche were the favourites for the head coach role, but England decided to bring Tuchel instead. Several Premier League managers have given their opinions on Tuchel's appointment and Southampton manager Russell Martin was also asked to share his thoughts on this decision. 

Russell Martin left unimpressed with England's Thomas Tuchel decision

Although Martin praised Thomas Tuchel and England's decision, the promotion-winning manager was left unimpressed with the fact that the national team didn't consider any English manager, saying, 

"Well, I think he's an exceptional coach. He's got a brilliant track record and I know that he'll do a really, really good job.

I think there are loads of English coaches really capable of doing a job as well."

- Russell Martin

Martin’s opinion is interesting, as most English managers often have to achieve promotion from the Championship to manage a Premier League club. Moreover, there are no English managers among the top six clubs such as Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs. Therefore, this signifies that most top teams aren't much convinced with English managers, who mostly manage bottom-placed Premier League teams. 

However, now it remains to be seen whether Thomas Tuchel ends England's 58-year trophy wait and delivers a major international trophy under his management. Also, Martin would want to register his first Premier League win as a manager, with Southampton preparing to face Steve Cooper's Leicester City at the St. Mary's Stadium.