The Three Lions assistant coach is confident that the young players in this country are able to match any nation in the world at playing an attractive, attacking and passing-based game.
“The English could sometimes be accused of taken shortcuts. It's changing in this country, believe me,” he said.
Liverpool playmaker Raheem Sterling is one of the most prominent of a new generation of England players
“You look at the Under-21s, the U19s. We've teams full of players who are encouraged by their academies to not just get the ball and get it out of the area as quick as they can, but to do something with it.
“These young players are very, very comfortable on the ball.”
Lewington, 58, has been coaching nearly half of his life after playing as a midfielder for Chelsea, Fulham, Sheffield United, Wimbledon and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Will Hughes has drawn praise for his quality on the ball with England Under-21s and Derby County
He worked alongside Roy Hodgson at Fulham and became the England manager’s first appointment when Hodgson took over the national team in 2012.
And over those two years working in the national setup, Lewington says he has seen enough to predict a bright future.
He said: “It's taken a little time, but we are creating players who like to get the ball into feet in tight areas and work with it.
“The last thing we want to do is to keep hitting the ball over their heads all the time. So now we've got to feed them properly from the back.”
“The process is moving on and I think we are better than sometimes people give us credit for”
Ray Lewington
England assistant coach
Lewington says fans who come to see England’s development teams for the first time this month may be pleasantly surprised by what they see.
“The process is moving on and I think we are better than sometimes people give us credit for,” he said.
“If you do go and watch the younger age groups, you can see players coming through, and their first instinct is to pass the ball and play, and that's encouraging.
“There will be lots of good talent coming through in a different mould to what we've maybe produced in the past.”
England Men's team are next in action on Saturday 15 November when they take on Slovenia at Wembley Stadium. Click here for tickets.
You can see Gareth Southgate's England Under-21s side against Portugal at Burnley on Thursday 13 November. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for concessions. Call 01282 70003 for more details.
Aidy Boothroyd's England U20s play host to Canada at Bournemouth a day earlier on Wednesday 12 November. Tickets cost just £3 for adults and £1 for U16s and concessions. Click here to buy your tickets.
And on Friday 14 November Shaun O'Driscoll's England U19s take on Italy at Rotherham United's New York Stadium. Tickets cost £3 for adults and £1 for U16s. Click here to buy your tickets.
