Gareth Southgate has signed a new contract through to 2022 as England manager which reflects his success in leading the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-final in Russia this summer but also in returning the national team to being a symbol of pride around the country.
FA chief executive Martin Glenn said last week that the days of England simply looking for a big-name managerial saviour are gone and that the hard work put in by Southgate, his staff and the whole set-up at St.George's Park has been responsible for the improved standing of a team (and an idea) that may have been in the last-chance saloon heading into the 2018 World Cup.
He marked two years in charge recently and showed with his selections for the upcoming Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain that he is not prepared to rest on the laurels of a successful tournament by bringing down further the average age of the squad and handing exciting young talents such as James Maddison and Jadon Sancho their opportunity in an England shirt.
He may not have liked Glenn's public pronouncement that England will win a World Cup but Southgate himself won't settle for simply replaying this summer's highlights again and again.