Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe says he was not contacted by the Football Association during its recent hunt for a new England manager.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said they had “interviewed approximately 10 people” including “some English candidates” before appointing German former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.
Howe, one of only three English managers currently in the Premier League, confirmed on Friday he was not among those spoken to.
Asked if he was interviewed for the England job, he said: “I was not. There was no contact from the FA.”
Questioned on whether this bothered him, Howe said: “England have to do what is right for them and only they will know the processes they have gone through and the decisions they have made. I am certainly not the type of person that is going to analyse that.
“For me, it’s about Newcastle and trying to win games and it’s hard enough to do that if you are 100% focused, and I will always remain that way to my work. If you drop your levels, then the job becomes impossible and at no stage have I allowed myself to do that.”
Tuchel’s appointment was confirmed on Wednesday, making him the third non-Englishman to coach the Three Lions.
Howe said he would have preferred an English coach to have been given the job but was full of praise for the 51-year-old.
He shadowed Tuchel for a couple of days while the German was manager of Chelsea and said he had learned a lot from the man who guided the Blues to the Champions League title in 2021.
“I’ve got a relationship with Thomas and I was lucky enough to go and see him work at Chelsea when I was out of work,” Howe, 46, said.
“What a brilliant guy. What a great person. What a great coach.
“I had two days with him and thought he was fascinating, and I wish him well. I think he’s a great appointment and I hope he leads England to many trophies.”
It is not known whether Howe’s agents and representatives were spoken to by the FA regarding the England job.
