Southgate didn't want the top job, which may be one reason he was so good at it

IN ASSESSING Gareth Southgate, I’m reminded of the old adage that those best qualified for power are the ones who have never sought it.

- Dan Kilpatrick

Southgate did not want the England job but reluctantly agreed to step up from the Under-21s, initially on an interim basis, when Sam Allardyce’s sacking plunged the Football Association into a fresh succession crisis just months after Roy Hodgson had resigned.

More than once this summer, as his fourth and final tournament wound towards Sunday’s heartbreaking conclusion, Southgate recalled that he joined the FA in 2011 from a desire to improve the reputation of English football around the world by developing young players and coaching practices.

He had never intended nor wanted to be the manager tasked with finally ending the interminable wait for a men’s trophy, until the job was thrust upon him.

He was initially an unwilling general but he was an excellent one and, like many who do not seek power, he came to wear the responsibility well.

Though he may have preferred to be behind the scenes, there is no doubt that Southgate succeeded in his original mission to improve the English game.