Unlike Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson, Gareth Southgate has never asked a star of the Golden Generation to sit alongside him at a tournament. The role of indispensable and trusted right-hand man is already taken.
‘In my view, Steve Holland is a legend,’ says the England manager about his closest confidant for more than seven years. ‘He’s the most experienced English coach in the country, right through from developing young players to winning the Champions League and Premier League with some of the best managers in the world.’
The level of praise may surprise some people, but not me.