A COUNCIL says it would consider building a statue of Gareth Southgate after a petition received thousands of signatures.

The petition was started by football fan Dan Armstrong. He wanted a statue built of the England boss in Crawley during the World Cup in 2018.

However, after Croatia knocked England out in the semi-finals, demand died down.

There has now been a resurgence of 800 signatures for the statue to be built, following the team's success during Euro 2020.

The Three Lions have qualified for the final after beating Denmark on Tuesday.

The increased demand for a statue to be built of the Crawley-born manager has led Crawley Borough Council to consider the plans.

A council spokesman said: "We're tremendously proud of what Gareth Southgate has achieved.

"He's a son of Crawley who grew up here, went to school here and learnt a lot of his football here, so we want to recognise his achievements.

"Nothing has been ruled out."

Gareth Southgate has an existing nod to him at a local leisure centre. At the K2 Crawley in Pease Pottage Hill, the manager is pictured among the other sporting personalities to have come from the town.

Dan Armstrong from Spotted Crawley said: "I've spoken with the council, and they do appear to support the idea of Southgate being recognised with a tribute of sorts.

"It's great that they seem to support the idea.

"It would be a great lift for the town to see a tribute to Gareth, regardless of the result on Sunday."

England have already beaten the likes of Germany, Ukraine, Croatia and the Czech Republic in the tournament but will have to defeat Italy if they are to win the Euros.