Gareth Southgate was exactly what England needed - but what comes next?

Over my lifetime we’ve played good football, and gone out. We’ve had a ‘golden generation’, and gone out. We’ve also been bloody awful and gone out too. The pragmatic route was worked, to an extent, we started to challenge - regularly. But being pragmatic didn’t work either, and once again, we’re out.

Euro 2024 felt like a tournament that was going the way of the Three Lions. They’ve rarely had the ‘luck’ that so many get en route to tournament victories, so many of the exits in my football-supporting life have been on the back of some injustice or other. It wasn’t like that in Berlin, England got to the final, they showed character there, but ultimately were just beaten by a better side. Spain were the best team in the tournament and the best team on the night - they deserved it.

So what next? Because something has to change. We can (and should) celebrate progress, what Gareth Southgate has done for English football cannot be minimised, it shouldn’t be forgotten just because there hasn’t been a trophy attached to it. We were in the doldrums when he found us, and he’s given us credibility again - he’s changed what it means to support England, and to play for them too. When he came in he was exactly what they needed.

But I do feel like it’s probably time for a new manager, though maybe not for the reasons that some others believe so… As I said, he’s brought England on in leaps and bounds, changed the entire culture of the setup, but how often can you keep picking them up again? It can’t be easy, for him or the players. And a new direction is needed, pragmatism isn’t the way with this group.

It's obviously in his hands, because the Football Association want him to stay by all accounts, and in my eyes he’s more than earned the right to choose when he goes, but there is a sense that maybe a new voice could help take things that little bit further now? Somebody to build on the fine work that Southgate has done.

What is certain is that any future success will be in part because of his work. If the years of hurt come to an end in 2026, or 2028, or 2030, then part of the credit will be his. And if things go backwards - which is entirely possible - at least maybe then people will understand what he managed to achieve.