The
FA have confirmed that Chelsea coach Steve Holland has been named England's
assistant manager.
The 46-year-old has worked with Gareth Southgate as part of the U21 coaching
set-up since 2013 and then joined the new England boss' staff on an interim
basis in October and November.
He will work with the squad for the March fixtures against Germany and
Lithuania, and then join the FA on a full-time basis at the end of the
current Premier League campaign.
The FA's bosses have negotiated a compromise deal to prise Holland away from
Stamford Bridge, where he remains highly regarded by manager Antonio Conte
and the club hierarchy.
Holland joined Chelsea's backroom staff in 2009 and has remained a constant
at Stamford Bridge ever since, standing in as caretaker manager in late 2015
after the sacking of Jose Mourinho, before Guus Hiddink took on an interim
role.
Southgate said: "Obviously Steve is somebody that I have worked with for the
last three years, through those two successful [U21] qualifying campaigns,
through the victory in Toulon.
"He is a coach who has won every trophy there is to win at club level.
"I could not be bringing somebody in with more experience, he has worked
with five or six of the top managers in the world in his time at Chelsea.
"We have developed a way of working, and our personalities and our strengths
complement each other really well, so to be able to bring Steve in as
assistant manager is a crucial appointment for me."
Southgate also expressed his thanks to Holland's current club for their
handling of the situation, adding: "I'd like to thank Chelsea for allowing
Steve to join up with us over the last three years.
"It's great that Steve is able to work with us on the March camp but getting
him on a full-time basis is very important and I was more than prepared to
wait until May for that to happen.
"If we want to be successful then we have to employ the best people and, for
me, Steve is the best."
It has also been confirmed that Martyn Margetson will be retained as
goalkeeping coach, having joined the set-up back in August.
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