GONE SOUTH Partying in a caravan with the Sex Pistols.. the Gareth Southgate I knew at Euro 96 BY

by a sense of duty, he strode out for undoubtedly the most difficult interviews of his career. Afterwards I accompanied him up one of the internal stairwells of Wembley, en route to the players’ private postmatch lounge. Suddenly our path was blocked by a plain-clothes police officer, barring the only route to the refuge. It was the last thing we needed. The reason quickly emerged – coming down the stairwell was then Prime Minister John Major. To his credit, Major brushed away his security and put an arm around Southgate’s s h o u l d e r, of f e r i n g w o rd s of sympathy. But Major was better known as a cricket fan than football fan for good reason. He addressed him as “Gary” throughout. No one, but no one, ever calls Gareth “Gary”. But at least the healing had begun.

Those Euro 96 experiences all served to shape the Southgate of today. A willingness to embrace the new – he has travelled widely to learn from sports beyond football. Handling adversity. The benefits of treating players as responsible adults.

Did Southgate shine out as a future England manager back in 1996? Not in the slightest. Tony Adams or Alan Shearer were talked about, but Gareth Southgate was far too nice.

Pundit in the media yes, or perhaps youth coaching. The toughest job in football? Never.

But no one doubted his dedication and intelligence. He has emerged as a manager for football’s millennials that no one saw 22 years ago.

And when you next see him singing God Save the Queen, bear in mind he probably knows the words to the Sex Pistols version as well.