Morgan says England head coach aspirations 'far-fetched'

Eoin Morgan has described the idea he should replace Matthew Mott as England's white-ball coach ahead of next year's T20 World Cup as "a bit far-fetched" and said that Mott should be given the chance to put things right at next year's tournament.

Morgan, who captained England to their first men's ODI World Cup in 2019, has been working on the 2023 tournament as a broadcaster, either side of a trip home for the birth of his child. Since returning to India last week, he has been highly critical of England's performance, which has left them on the brink of elimination after five defeats in six games.

Mott coached England to the T20 World Cup last year and on Sunday, he denied Morgan's implication that there are issues in the dressing room. He has come under growing scrutiny from the English press and after England's 100-run defeat to India in Lucknow, one column in the Daily Telegraph argued that Morgan should take over in the event that the ECB decide Mott's time is up.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Morgan said that the column was "a bit far-fetched" and said that he had no intention of becoming a coach in the near future. "Everybody's entitled to interpretate [sic] my comments," he said. "I was very clear in what I thought might be a cause to the performance that the England team have produced throughout this World Cup.

"Nobody in the changing room - captain or captain, any of the players - can explain the situation that they find themselves in. But I'm very happy and cemented, hopefully, in what I'm going to do for the future. I spend a lot of time at home now with my young family, which is great, and I love watching on."

Morgan believes that the short turnaround before next year's T20 World Cup in June will play in Mott and captain Jos Buttler's favour. "I actually think talk of replacing captain and coach is not a good idea at the moment, simply because of the high turnover of World Cups," he said. "They're double world champions for a reason: they're not a bad team by any stretch.

"Matthew Mott is going through his biggest challenge of his England coaching career at the moment, and it's one that he should be given time to put right, certainly towards the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA," he added.

Mark Wood became the latest England squad member to defend Mott on Wednesday, saying that the players themselves need to take more responsibility for their underperformance. Asked by the BBC if there is still support for Mott among the players, Wood said: "For a [T20] World Cup-winning coach? Support for a World Cup-winning coach? Absolutely.

"As a player you have everything you need… you cannot pin everything on the coach. Sometimes, the players have to look at themselves and take a bit of responsibility. I have not performed well enough in this World Cup… I don't think you can pin it on the captain or the coach. Sometimes you have to look at yourself and say you haven't been good enough."

England still have plenty to play for in their final three group games, starting against Australia in Ahmedabad on Saturday before fixtures against the Netherlands and Pakistan next week - not least qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The ICC confirmed last week that hosts Pakistan will be joined by the other seven-highest finishers at this World Cup, and England sit 10th as things stand.

Morgan said that failure to reach that tournament would leave the ECB and men's managing director Rob Key in a difficult position. "If the England team don't qualify for the Champions Trophy, the likes of Rob Key and the board at the ECB will come under increasing pressure surrounding his [Mott's] job," he said.