Paul Merson delivers his verdict on whether Frank Lampard should be next England manager

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Paul Merson has just shared whether or not he thinks Chelsea icon Frank Lampard would be a good appointment as the next England manager.

For the first time in eight years, the English FA will now conduct a search to appoint a new manager of the men’s senior national team. This comes after Gareth Southgate officially stepped down from his role as England boss on Tuesday.

There’s certainly been more up than downs during the Southgate era, but ultimately it feels like the natural time for change after losing another final in a major tournament. England’s latest shortcoming came in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against Spain in the final of Euro 2024.

It will be interesting to see if vacant manager Frank Lampard is considered by England. As it stands, there’s been no concrete links with the former Chelsea boss as the dust settles on Southgate’s very recent exit.

• READ MORE: Simon Jordan gives honest opinion on Frank Lampard potentially becoming the next England manager

Paul Merson would approve of Frank Lampard as next England manager

Paul Merson has said on ‘Football’s Greatest’ YouTube channel that he would be in favour of Lampard replacing Southgate as the England boss.

When asked whether Lampard could be a good candidate to become England’s next manager, Merson said: “Yeah, I like Frank. I like the Frank situation.

“The big advantage Gareth had, he played at tournaments. He lived tournaments and international football [as a player]. I think it’s a big advantage.

“Frank’s been at tournaments and been deep in tournaments. Been to tournaments as really fancied and failed miserably. Big experience that is.

“That’s a good shout. I like that shout… I didn’t think of that one, but I like that.”

Should England appoint Frank Lampard?

If England decide to approach Lampard about becoming Southgate’s successor, he should definitely jump at the giant opportunity.

But our gut feeling is the 46-year-old still has so much to improve as a coach and it’d be better if he returns to club football.

He’s been out of work for a year now since stepping in as Chelsea’s interim boss.

There’s been some really encouraging signs during each of his managerial spells at Derby County, Chelsea and Everton. However, he’s still a really young manager learning on the job and there’s a lot to improve on before taking one of the most highly pressured positions in international management.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football recently, Gary Lineker said he’d like Lampard as England manager. Our worry is he’d be on the backfoot from day one and receive a lot of negativity from supporters.