Stuart Pearce has insisted the thought of quitting as England U21 manager, despite failing to win a match at this summer's European Championship finals.

The young Three Lions crashed out at the group stage, but Pearce preferred to reflect on previous success such as reaching the final two years earlier and a semi-final spot in the tournament prior to that. In fact, England are the only team to qualify for the last three tournaments.

Pearce signed a two-year contract extension following this summer's finals, and the former Nottingham Forest left-back had no intention of turning his back on the role.

“Quite often, expectation arises once every two years and people turn up to watch the U21s, who have never seen the U21s over a two-year period, and fully expect us to be a superpower, with scant disregard for the likes of the Ukrainians, the Czechs, sometimes even the Spanish," he said.

“When I look back, we were a minute from going through the group. It’s thin dividing lines. I’ll speak with the players about the expectations and what we’re planning for over a two-year period from now on and that expectation will be to win this trophy again.

“Anything that falls short of that, I’ll be disappointed with. But I’ve also got to look and say this summer we qualified three times in a row for this U21 tournament. No other team in Europe’s done that.

“While I and the squad and maybe the media in England were disappointed with us not getting out the group, one thing’s for sure, Germany, Italy and France weren’t even at the tournament. So, if we’re disappointed, they must be crestfallen.”