“Another Person With An Everton Connection Gave Me My Start – Dave Jones Offered Me A Player/ Coach Role At Cardiff And I Have A Lot To Thank Him For”

To say Margetson is still in the game is something of an understatement. He is the country’s foremost goalkeeper coach – a fact underlined by him filling that position for England’s national team.

- Martyn Margetson

He was initially appointed to the Three Lions role by Allardyce, whose alliance with Margetson, true to form, has its roots in an Everton connection.

The 46-year-old takes up the story of how the pair first came to be teamed up together at West Ham United following Allardyce’s appointment as boss of the London club in 2011.

“I was a teammate of Gary Speed’s with Wales Under-21s way back in the early ‘90s,” says Margetson, who earned one full cap for his country. “I had been coaching for a few years at Cardiff, then Gary offered me the chance to be part of his staff with Wales when he got that job in 2011.

“Before that, Gary and Sam had formed a close relationship when they were at Bolton – and when Sam eventually got the West Ham job, Gary recommended me to him.

“It was a very big decision for me to make. I had been at Cardiff a long time as a player and coach. But there was a change of manager [Malky Mackay was appointed Cardiff boss 10 days after Allardyce accepted the West Ham post] and there was a little bit of uncertainty around the club.

“My family had always been based in Cardiff, so it was a big change. But it is another decision I can look back on and know I did the right thing.”