Former England manager Gareth Southgate says he won't coach in the next year

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Former England coach Gareth Southgate said Thursday he will be taking a year away from a club or national team job, after speculation he could be a target for Manchester United.

“I won’t coach in the next year, for sure. I’m certain of that,” Southgate said during an on-stage interview to an audience of hundreds of soccer officials at a European Club Association meeting.

Southgate stepped down from the England job in July, two days after losing in the final of the European Championship for the second straight tournament. England lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin, three years after losing the title match to Italy in a penalty shootout at its home Wembley Stadium in London.

His eight years in the job transformed England’s record and reputation in international soccer, also reaching a semifinal and quarterfinal at back-to-back World Cups.

Criticized by some fans for being too cautious, Southgate won praise for restoring his players' enjoyment of being with the national team, protecting them from criticism, and being a thoughtful commentator on social issues during a polarizing period in British society.

“I need to give myself time to make good decisions,” Southgate said. “I’m fortunate that there are lots of opportunities presenting themselves.”

Southgate distanced himself even before Euro 2024 from speculation he could be a target for Man United, which has made a poor start to the season under coach Erik ten Hag.

“Clubs can only be successful if everything is aligned right the way through the club,” said Southgate, whose previous experience of club management was with Middlesbrough, for three years after he finished playing there in 2006.

“And I also know that maybe the smarter people sit in the boardrooms and the coaches are a little bit more dispensable than you think when you’re there,” he said.

The 54-year-old former England defender said he was “at an age where I want to work with good people” and was interested by the business side of soccer.

“I am not just set on being a coach moving forward,” Southgate said, adding he had been asked to speak at Harvard.

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FILE - England's then-manager Gareth Southgate looks on during the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)