Gareth Southgate has said he questioned himself over whether it was right to continue as England manager after the World Cup.
England were beaten in the quarter-finals of the Qatar tournament last year, with France beating Southgate’s side 2-1.
There had been a widespread expectation that Southgate would quit after the World Cup, but he decided to stay on.
Southgate, 52, claims he wanted to ensure he had the same motivation to carry on in his position before making a decision on his future.
When questioned on his decision to stay on as England manager after the World Cup, Southgate told BBC Sport: “You need to give yourself time in these situations to make good decisions.
“I think it’s easy to rush things when emotions are high, and very often you have to sleep a little bit more and come to the right conclusions.
“The question for me was… ‘is it the right thing to keep taking this project on?’ Because it’s not just the six years I’ve been with the seniors — I’ve been here 10 years with developing everything as well. So I wanted to make sure I’m still fresh and hungry for that challenge.”
Southgate also stated that he thought about how his departure may have affected the England squad.
He added: “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? Do we need to free that narrative up so that the support is behind the team, and not just debating whether the manager should be there or not?
“But I think we came through that period.”
During his time as England manager, Southgate has previously taken the country to the European Championship final and to the World Cup semi-final in 2018.
The former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough defender took charge of the senior side in 2016.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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