Alan Shearer was quick to shut down Gary Lineker when discussing candidates to succeed Gareth Southgate as England manager.
After a second successive failed attempt at European Championship glory, talk has turned to Southgate’s future.
The 53-year-old has been in charge for eight years but his contract expires in December and there have been several names already linked with the post, including Graham Potter, Lee Carsley and Mauricio Pochettino.
But on the Rest Is Football podcast alongside Micah Richards and Shearer, Lineker wondered if it should be an Englishman who gets the job and mentioned Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, which saw protest from Magpies hero Shearer.
“So who next? Lineker asked. “Do you go English? Because there is really only Eddie Howe.”
Shearer sharply interjected, shouting: “Stop it!”
Like many Newcastle fans, Shearer does not want to lose Howe, who has worked wonders at St. James’ Park after leading them to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
The former striker, who played 405 times for Newcastle over 10 years, got a laugh out of the room as Lineker continued.
He said: “Say Gareth does call it a day, which I suspect must be so tough, so demanding, so hard, who would you go for? Eddie Howe?”
Shearer replied: “There is no doubt he will be in the betting because he has gone a great job at Newcastle and he plays that kind of football.”
Lineker continued: “If you go English, we have mentioned Frank Lampard but wouldn’t you go all out for [former Liverpool boss] Jurgen Klopp?”
Richards said through a smile: “I’d go one bigger: Pep [Guardiola].”
However, Lineker protested: “I think we’d all want Pep but do you realistically think he’d join?” Richards asked: “Why not?”
Lineker continued: “I don’t know, Klopp is out of a job and he will have a bit of a rest…”
But Shearer shut down the talk by saying: “Do you really think England would go for a German manager?”
Whatever happens next, the FA and Southgate have a decision to make but have time on their hands with England not playing now until September 7.
It has already been reported that Southgate already has a new job lined up, should he decide to leave England.
Southgate and the squad cut dejected figures when they arrived back in the UK less than 24 hours after the loss.
It is thought he will be offered a new deal on his contract that expires in December if he wants to take the job into the 2026 World Cup.
He had been reluctant to discuss his future in the aftermath of defeat. “I don’t think now is a good time to make a decision like that,” he said. “I need to talk to the right people. It’s not for now.”