Gareth Southgate ‘has taken England to whole new level

And remember the following World Cups – 1974 and 1978 – we didn’t even qualify, something unthinkable today.

And I had to resort to cheering for Scotland, which I did willingly. Somehow the Scots have never reciprocated!

This summer’s Euros in Germany, which culminated in our defeat by Spain in the final on Sunday, was in terms of emotion at one level no different.

But at another level of performance, it was hugely different.

Because under Gareth Southgate, England have progressed in leaps and bounds.

We have been one of the best four teams in the world since 2018, appearing in the last six years in one World Cup Semi Final and two Euros finals.

Something in terms of real achievement wholly unthinkable before Southgate. And it didn’t happen by accident.

Huge credit should go to Sir Trevor Brooking in his role as the FA’s Director of Football development up to 2014. He led the Skills Program which has led to 10 million children accessing FA Skills accredited football based physical education.

His program led to stopping seven- and eight-year-olds playing on full sized pitches, which hugely helped develop more technically proficient players.

And the Elite player performance program which flowed from this directly helped create wonderful players like Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham.

But Gareth Southgate, in terms of leadership, capability and practice, has taken us to a whole new level.

His use of psychologists to help the players banish fear, his methodical research identifying that a big contributor to England’s woeful track records at penalties was taking them too quickly, his empathy and support for his players who came to know he’d always have their backs, his taking of blame to take it off the players, the respect and loyalty he has gained from the players-all of this has revolutionised England at Euros and World Cup finals.

So, England have come so far, yet not quite made it far enough to win for the first time since 1966. So why on Sunday did we still not quite make it over the line?

Well, we faced in Spain – the best team in the tournament.

We still have remnants of the pre-Southgate fearful mindset.

It took conceding goals and going behind for the team to throw off the shackles of fear and play openly and expressively.

Harry Kane was bluntly not match fit, and that impacted adversely on the team.

Almost all our players play in the Premier League – the most competitive and lengthy league in the world. They end the season knackered – just in time for the Euros and the World Cup.

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The England team have still not learnt how to integrate the greatest technical players like Trent Alexander Arnold into the team.

But overall, we are almost there. I hope Gareth Southgate stays to the next World Cup. He certainly deserves to.

But whether under Southgate or a new Manager, adhering to the same leadership strategy, I believe we can win the World Cup or the Euros in the next 10 years.

We now have the players, the right coaching framework, the right leadership. We really can end almost 60 years of hurt!

And however, we do, let’s remember the words of the late, great Sir Bobby Charlton when he said: “Football is not just a game, it’s a passion, a way of life.”

With those words, Sir Bobby encapsulated the profound impact that football holds on the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world.