Former England manager Roy Hodgson has claimed that his development of young talent was the best feature of his ill-fated spell in charge of the national team.
Hodgson was never afraid to bring new faces into his England squads, with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Ross Barkley, John Stones and Jesse Lingard all being handed their debuts by the 69-year-old.
Ignominious exits at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 ultimately brought an end to Hodgson's spell in charge, but he believes that his legacy will live on through his nurturing of new talent.
"I think probably the four years, especially the last two years after the World Cup, fashioning a team from a very young group of players, many of whom weren't even in their club side, and playing the sort of football we were capable of playing - we were playing very, very well," he told the Big Issue.
"I am very, very proud of that achievement. I think it is probably the best work, in many ways, that I did or have done so far. But of course, any work you do as a sporting person, a football coach or any coach, if it is good work you've got to have something - a championship - to show for it. We didn't get that, quite the reverse.
"I believe people who work within the game and inside sport realise what I did and certainly I got all sorts of messages from all sorts of important friends and acquaintances. So there was never any doubt I would collapse in any way with self-doubt. If anything, I think the experience makes you stronger."
Hodgson has recently been linked with the Norwich City job, although Canaries chairman Ed Balls has moved to play down that speculation.
Barney Corkhill
