Mark Bullingham confident England can keep Sarina Wiegman until end of contract
The 55-year-old is the first manager in the history of men's or women's football to reach five consecutive major finals – including Sunday's showdown with Spain in Basel, where England are aiming to defend their Euro 2022 title.
Wiegman is signed on until the conclusion of the 2027 World Cup, and, despite believing the Dutchwoman 'could do any job in football', Bullingham fully expects her to be leading England out in Brazil.
'(It won't be) hard at all (to keep her),' said Bullingham. 'We are committed to her until 2027, she is committed to us, and we've obviously got a new team to support her.
'We haven't quite started working on 2027, although some of the logistical things we're looking at, but I know that her focus, hopefully after a success on Sunday, will shift quite quickly to 2027.'
Should England beat Spain, Wiegman will lift her third consecutive European championship trophy, having guided the Netherlands to glory in 2017, then England in 2022. She also took the Dutch team to the World Cup final in 2019, and was in charge when the Lionesses reached their first two summers ago.
Asked when conversations could take place, Bullingham replied: 'I'm pretty focused on Sunday at the moment. Generally you're normally looking at a tournament cycle out, if not a year out, that's when you would know roughly whether the coach wants to carry on, or whether you want to carry on, but, honestly, we haven't had any of those discussions yet.'
On Tuesday night, after England completed another stunning comeback to beat Italy in their semi-final, Wiegman said she did not think she could distill her success down to one secret ingredient, but added: 'The only thing I could say, I think I'm always myself.'
Bullingham feels Wiegman is a 'very special' coach, pointing out that 'there are teams here that have got good players, but haven't made it through to a final.
'Her connection with everyone is so special. I think really stressing that everyone is in it together is critical, and I think she's really helped build a very strong culture, not just amongst players, but the whole support team.
'I think her record individually is phenomenal. Before the tournament I said we were lucky to have her. I still feel that way. I think she's been incredible. I think her record of managing five tournaments and reaching five finals is phenomenal.
'I don't think anyone's been anywhere near that in the past, and I think it would be really hard for anyone to do in the future.'
Some have wondered if Wiegman's next move could be into the men's game – perhaps even with England.
Reiterating a similar view on the subject from two years ago, when he was asked for his thoughts at the World Cup, Bullingham said: 'It's almost disrespectful to assume that England men's is a more senior job than women's.
'That's not the way we view it. I said at the time, and I still believe now, Sarina could do any job in football.'
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