acked Evans five times.I think our defensive players were probably tired of hearing how bad they were, Johnson said.Virginia Tech: The Hokies -- who hadnt turned the ball over in their pre

MANCHESTER, England -- After the acrimonious departure of Sam Allardyce, Englands national soccer team is temporarily in the hands of a man who said just three weeks ago that he wasnt ready for such a high pressure job.Yet interim coach Gareth Southgate may end up keeping it given the paucity of top-class English managers around.The English Football Associations preference is that an Englishman coaches the national team, but theres hardly a queue of top-quality candidates.Alan Pardew, Eddie Howe and Steve Bruce are high on the list of bookmakers favorites to be the next England coach, yet none of them have managed a so-called big club in the Premier League or coached a team in the Champions League. Pardew and Howe are in charge of unfashionable Premier League clubs (Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, respectively) and Bruce recently quit as manager of Hull.Glenn Hoddle, England coach from 1996-99, is also on the bookies list and a popular call with ex-professionals even though he hasnt coached in a decade.So Southgate, who has been given the reins for Englands next four matches against Malta, Slovenia, Scotland and Spain, can stake a claim for the role on a full-time basis should he impress as a caretaker coach.Except this was the same man who said as recently as Sept. 5 that he needed more experience to be England manager, having coached only one club (Middlesbrough, from 2006-09) and been in charge of the England under-21 side since 2013. Southgate pulled out of the race to succeed Roy Hodgson after the European Championship for this very reason, with the job going to Allardyce.Im pretty clear on what Im comfortable with, Southgate said then, but also I know to take that role wasnt something I think Ive got the experience for.I think its one of the ultimate jobs and you want every skill set possible when you go into it. I think with England, there are one or two other things that I would want to have had experience of before I took that role, to be going into it from a real position of strength. Maybe that happens in the future, maybe it doesnt?Less than a month later, hes been thrust into what some term The Impossible Job.To manage England will be a huge responsibility and a huge honor for me, Southgate said Wednesday.With my experience with the under-21s in international football, and having worked with so many of the players who have moved up to the seniors as well, I think we are in a good position to prepare for these games. Its obviously been a difficult situation for the FA but it was important that there was some stability and continuity for everybody.Clean-cut, well-spoken and with no baggage, the 46-year-old Southgate fits the bill for the FA in terms of image. He would be the last person likely to get caught up in the kind of newspaper sting that led to Allardyce losing his job on Tuesday. He also knows the FA and what the national body wants and expects, having been an employee for three years.Gareth Southgate will do a good job, FA chairman Greg Clarke said. He knows the people, he knows the team, he knows the setup at St. Georges Park. Hell take over pretty seamlessly.Best known for missing a crucial penalty in Englands shootout loss to Germany in the Euro 1996 semifinals, Southgate was fired after three years at Middlesbrough following its relegation from the Premier League. He has repaired his coaching reputation with Englands under-21s and led the team to a first title in 22 years at the Toulon tournament this year.Bruce is the second-favorite with bookmakers, behind Southgate, and has to be a big contender considering he was interviewed by the FA for the job eventually given to Allardyce. The 38-year-old Howe, who guided unfancied Bournemouth into the Premier League and kept it there, is widely regarded as a future England coach but now may be too soon for him.The problem for English coaches is they are rarely given the chance to prove themselves at the leading Premier League clubs, who prefer foreign managers. The FA has tried to address the lack of top English coaches by building the sprawling National Football Centre in central England in 2012 and using that as a base from where talented young coaches can be brought through. That will take time, though.For now, the FA has given itself some breathing space and will look to have a new man in place by Englands World Cup qualifier against Lithuania in March.It wasnt the plan we had, Clarke said, but weve now got to make the new plan work.Nike React Mens Shoes Ireland . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Nike React Discount Ireland . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. http://www.discountnikereactireland.com/ . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Nike React Sale Ireland .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Nike React Discount . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter.BLACKSBURG, Va. -- No starting quarterback? No problem for Georgia Tech.With Justin Thomas on the sideline with an injury, backup quarterback Matthew Jordan rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 30-20 upset of No. 14 Virginia Tech on Saturday.Thomas dressed for the game, but didnt play after an undisclosed injury last week at North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets (6-4, 3-4 ACC) didnt miss a beat, and Jordan, who made his first career start, repeatedly gashed the Hokies defense. He carried the ball 32 times and scored on runs of 53 and 3 yards.I really didnt know until warm-ups to be honest, Jordan said. I think I was a little bit nervous when we first started off. Once the game went along, I think I settled down.Marcus Marshall added 143 yards rushing and a score for the Yellow Jackets, who rushed for 309 yards. They also became bowl eligible.I told our kids after that game that 6-6 is not what were after, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. Once we were out of the conference race, I challenged our team to try and win nine games. If you go back and look at the last 50 years here, it hasnt been done a lot.Georgia Techs win was just the third road win over a ranked team in Johnsons tenure as coach. He took over in 2008.Virginia Tech (7-3, 5-2, No. 18 AP), which was looking to clinch the ACCs Coastal Division crown, played its worst game of the season. The Hokies turned the ball over four times, botched a short field-goal attempt, and had a terrible snap rigght before halftime that ultimately led to Jordans 3-yard touchdown run.dddddddddddd That score gave them a 20-0 halftime lead.The Hokies Jerod Evans threw a touchdown pass and ran for two scores -- the latter two coming with the game already decided.In the end, we didnt play well enough, Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. We didnt deserve to win the ball game. Credit to them.THE TAKEAWAYGeorgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets defense gave up 636 yards of offense in a 48-20 loss at North Carolina a week ago, but the group held Virginia Tech to 437 yards and sacked Evans five times.I think our defensive players were probably tired of hearing how bad they were, Johnson said.Virginia Tech: The Hokies -- who hadnt turned the ball over in their previous three games -- need to find their groove on offense. They only mustered a field goal in the second half against Duke a week ago, didnt score in the first half against Georgia Tech, and had 182 of their yards on their final two drives when trailing 30-7.POLL IMPLICATIONSVoters could drop Virginia Tech down or out of the AP Top 25 when the new list comes out Sunday.UP NEXTGeorgia Tech: Returns home for the final home game of the season and takes on Virginia, the last-place team in the ACCs Coastal Division.Virginia Tech: Travels to South Bend, Indiana, to take on Notre Dame in the first meeting between the two programs. ' ' '