Quotes

Terry [Terry Venables] opened my eyes to things that no one else has. He has fantastic tactical awareness. Every senior player in the group went away having learned a lot from him, which is an achievement.

If you had said to the players when I started at Crystal Palace that I was going to be upheld as the sartorial model for the country, you'd have been hooted out of the training ground. [laughs] As a centre-half with a face like I've got then that's a very rare position to be in. I'm not David Beckham, so we're in trouble.

I was a volunteer, really [in Euro '96]. The type of character I was, I felt you should put yourself forward. It is probably braver not to, if you are not confident.

[in 2018] "Football's Coming Home" was a song I couldn't even listen to for 20 years, frankly, so for me it has a slightly different feel. It's nice to hear people enjoying it again, anyway.

The feel of this group of players [in 2018] is very similar to the players we had then [in 1996], but that team was a lot more experienced in terms of age and experience of big matches. It had tactical understanding, it had technically good players. We have emerging leaders, that team had six captains at their clubs. But we approached this tournament in the same way. We were a group of guys having a lot of fun, enjoying our football, learning and improving all the time - and that's what these lads have done.

I've learned a million things from that day [Euro '96 semi-final] and the years that followed it. When something goes wrong in your life it doesn't finish you and you should become braver, knowing that you've got to go for things in life and don't regret because you didn't try to be as good as you might be.

[after Euro '96] The wedding's still on, she's not kicked me out over this.

I've never been good at gambling, drinking, fighting, tantrums, celebrity.

[on football philosophy] If we don't allow players to express themselves we'll never progress.

[on missing a penalty in Euro '96] The biggest thing, the immediate thing, was the team-mates you were letting down.

[on family life and football] You have to try to find a balance... my focus gets drawn towards making this team as successful as we can, to be the best team in the world, but I'm also a dad and a husband.

[on his ambitions] I started kicking a ball with my dad and my grandad, and my one aim was to play for England at Wembley. I fulfilled that dream.

[on becoming England manager] It is a journey I didn't expect or want to be on. I was hoping that in the last Euros the team was going to do really well and Roy [Roy Hodgson] would still be there. When Sam Allardyce was appointed, I was under-21 coach and there to support him. I have said from the off I wasn't comfortable with the manner in which I took the reins, but I have enjoyed the responsibility. I've enjoyed having the role and I think I was the best qualified person with the best experiences to take it at the time it came up.

[in 2018] In the end, we are very proud of what we've done. We're under no illusions as to where we stand as a team; we've finished in the final four but we're not a top-four team yet, we know that, and we've never hidden behind that. Against the very best teams we've come up short, but we've had a wonderful adventure and some experiences that will stand this group of players and staff in really good stead for the future.

The club that you start with is always special. I learned a lot during that period even though I hadn't even made the step up. I owe a lot to those people at the club who gave me the opportunity, and of course Alan Smith was a great mentor and always has been in my career. Looking back I will always remember it as a very special period in my life.

For any player, playing football is important but for young players, particularly so. Those learning experiences are really key. Then you want them to play in big matches as well, to experience playing under pressure and against the best opposition. Last season we were 33 per cent in the Premier League, this year we are down to 30. In the top six teams, there is a real concern in terms of a decreasing number of English players. It is not that the talent isn't there. We've shown that at youth level it is. But we really need to think seriously about how we give them more opportunities. We have some really exciting players that, if we're not careful, we'll lose because of a lack of opportunities.