FA chief executive Martin Glenn revealed that Gareth Southgate faced a tough interview process before his appointment as new England manager.
Southgate was initially named as Three Lions interim boss for the last four internationals, following the departure of Sam Allardyce in September.
And despite impressing by leading the team to victories over Scotland and Malta, along with draws against Slovenia and Spain, Southgate still had to face a five-man panel before he was assured he had the job.
FA CEO Martin Glenn congratulates Gareth Southgate on his appointment
“Because of the history of the summer, we contacted and interviewed a number of managers as we have a recent database of who is out there and the job was really to assess Gareth against that group of people that we’d looked at before,” explained Glenn.
“Gareth has a track record, he’s successfully managed the Under-21s and the senior team in those four games so seeing things in real life is much more important than in interviews.
“Secondly, it was a tough interview. He was asked to present his findings of those last four games when he was in charge and his learnings from that and what he wants to do going forward and he had to work pretty hard on that.
“We got a couple more people in, so Howard Wilkinson and Graeme Le Saux, on a five-man panel to really give Gareth a good working over in the nicest possible way.
“There was talk of it being a nice, friendly chat, but it wasn’t. It was a tough interview.
“We went through a review of the four games and he took some difficult questions on that, how he set up and how he anticipated things.
“So he was interviewed quite strongly and coming out of that, you get two things, he gave us great confidence that he knows what he’s talking about and that he understands how to motivate players in the international set-up.
“And secondly, you could see like all of us, he’s still got things to learn and we’ve got a better idea about the ways we can put support around him to ensure he can be successful.”
As well as his spell with the seniors over the last two months, Southgate’s work with the U21s also put him in a strong position.
After leading the Young Lions to the Toulon Tournament title in the summer, as well as guiding the squad to another successful Euro qualification, Glenn had been left enthused by the way his U21s side went about their business.
“I don’t think Gareth has a fixed view as to how England teams must play – we must play to win and be effective in international tournaments and that’s the job,” he added.
“Tactics will evolve and change, but the real power of Gareth is that he’s a very good football tactician and he’s really well organised, he understands the international set up and what it means to play in an international tournament environment.
“But he’s also a great ambassador for what The FA stands for. We’ve seen him closely at hand for the last few years and the way he has performed under pressure and handled himself with great dignity.
“He’s very transparent at what he does and he’s a leader – he’s been the captain at every club he’s been at and has won silverware.
“Yes, he’s a good guy and models the values of The FA well, but beneath it he’s also a winner and that’s part of the job.”
