really, was that when there feels like there might be division between what the fans want and where my position might have been, that that can affect the team. and i was conscious of that leading into the world cup, and ifelt we had great support going into the world cup. but i was conscious how would things be during and after the world cup? because i never want to be in a position where my presence is affecting the team in a negative way. and i didn t believe that was the case, but ijust wanted a period after the world cup to reflect and make sure that was that was still how it felt, really. how much soul searching did the decision involve, gareth? did you fluctuate at all between deciding to stay and leave? no, not after the world cup. in the lead in, that was
and i m comfortable with that from a personal perspective. my thinking is always around, how does this affect the team? is this going to give the team the best chance going into the world cup, for example? do we need to free that narrative up so that the support is behind the team and notjust debating whether the manager should be there or not? but i think we came through that period. we ve started to score goals again and reminded ourselves of what we could be at our best. and that was very much the mindset we went into the tournament with. and was there a real sense after the world cup of unfinished business? that it would be painful, perhaps, to see somebody else come and take over the role and perhaps benefit from all the hard work that you d been putting into it for some time? again, i don t have a problem with whatever the succession might be and england doing well once i ve gone because no manager
a little bit different. i wasn t quite sure how things would play out and i think it s always right tojudge an international manager on their tournaments. so, did i think that we overachieved? no. do i think we underachieved? no, i don t. i think our performances were good. i think the game with france going into it is a 50 50 game, which i think everybody would consider france to be one of the best teams in the world with the depth of talent they have. but, of course, across the flow of that game, that s the game we should win. but small margins make a difference, and we ve got to make sure now that those small margins are turned in our favour. so, going into the world cup was that night at molineux injune when england lost to hungary and you received criticism from some fans. was that playing a major role in your thought process going into the world cup? and if so, why? because i was worried after that game that the team would be affected
by the narrative being constantly about should the manager stay or go. and i felt when we went into the games in september we were a little bit anxious, i thought at wembley against germany the crowd weren t against the team, but they were waiting to see what happened. and i ve been around teams where that can inhibit performance, and the last thing you want as a manager is that your presence is divisive and inhibits performance. so, i knew i had support with the players and how they were responding to things and i knew i had support of the organisation. so, those things are calm, but i think there are bigger things at stake with england than just having the support of those people at certain times. so, at that stage, before the world cup, would you say that you were feeling you were more likely to leave than stay before the tournament? no, i was totally focused