Steve Holland appears set to join Gareth Southgate’s national team staff and remain at Chelsea through the end of the season. Tottenham could not be reached for comment.
Gareth Southgate will likely be confirmed as England’s next manager by midweek. As expected, he will name Chelsea assistant coach Steve Holland as his assistant at St. George’s Park. All parties involved seem to have binned Tottenham’s objections that a dual appointment for Holland would tilt an unfair information advantage to the Blues.
England only has two more World Cup qualifiers before the end of the Premier League season. The Three Lions play Germany and Lithuania in the March international break. Given the low impact of England’s schedule and Holland having every reason to stay on with Chelsea, he will wear both assistant coaching hats for the remainder of the season.
After the season – hopefully with a league winners’ medal in hand – Holland may need to choose which side will get his full attention. The Telegraph reports that Holland and Southgate will revisit the issue next summer. The Daily Mail, however, reports that Holland will depart Chelsea after the current campaign.
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Both club and country have clearly stated their stance on Holland. Chelsea have said they will not interfere with what ever decision he makes. Southgate has been quite clear that he wants Holland full time as his assistant for England.
Antonio Conte has his retinue of lieutenants from Italy. His brother Gianluca and Alessio Allegri have been part of the Conte package deal through Juventus and the Italian national side.
Holland has been as much of a Chelsea stalwart as John Terry since 2009. Conte is Holland’s sixth boss at Stamford Bridge. Holland has been a major source of stability and continuity within the first team, and in linking the Academy to the senior squad.
Holland’s departure could help secure John Terry’s short-term future with the club. All sorts of John Terry rumours and banter circulated this weekend, speculating that maybe he would not finish his career as a Chelsea man.
Even with his regular coaching staff in place Conte would not want to lose both of the Bluest men in Stamford Bridge. Conte clearly wants a stronger development pipeline from the Academy, and prizes squad stability and cohesion more than his predecessors. Holland and Terry contribute strongly to both missions, so Conte will want to keep at least one on the staff.
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The upside to Steve Holland’s situation is the professionalism with which all parties are facing the matter. Too often these situations devolve into petty squabbling and bickering. It’s a credit to all involved – and speaks to everyone’s respect for Steve Holland – that they are respecting each other’s prerogatives and deferring to Holland’s choice.