Roy Hodgson began life as a former England manager by making a reluctant final appearance in front of the media and warning his successor that Euro 2016 humiliation could “damage” the players he leaves behind.
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“We clearly need an inspirational manager who can harness all of the big resources that the English game has got, everything we have now got at St George’s Park, to make us more resilient in tournaments”.
Meanwhile, England captain Wayne Rooney released a statement refuting press reports that senior players had lost faith in Hodgson’s methods.
“On behalf of the players, we completely supported the England manager but we understand his reasons for stepping down”.
He insisted, however, that his team had showed signs of “good football” in three group stage games before Monday’s defeat in the round of 16.
He added: “We had a team meeting yesterday where me and [joint coach] Heimir Hallgrimsson were playing devil’s advocate and trying to get the players back down to earth because whatever is happening around us we have to deal with it”.
“They were behind the game plans that we had and trying to execute them”.
With the qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup in Russian Federation set to commence this autumn, time is of the essence for England but there is a feeling that Southgate is sufficiently qualified to bridge the gap for 12 months.
FA chief executive Martin Glenn, sitting alongside an emotional Hodgson in Chantilly, even suggested the search could take months – bringing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger into the equation as he enters the final year of his contract at Emirates Stadium.
“On the night Iceland were the better side”, he said.
“Taking it forward with a view to the World Cup in Russian Federation”. I think he’s got the personality, the strength, he’s a good technical manager, he’s very experienced and he’s someone who perhaps could imbue confidence.
Steve Bruce wouldn’t do any worse with the national squad than Roy Hodgson (or a number of those before him had) would he? We’re very disappointed. We didn’t punch our weight. He said they were looking for “the best person for the job”, and did not rule out appointing a foreign manager.
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Outgoing Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has questioned why anybody would want the England job – and claimed the players were “scared to death” in the defeat to Iceland.
