Because of the criticism he received before to the World Cup, Gareth Southgate thought about resigning as England's manager.

He stated: "The last thing you want as a manager is if your presence is divisive and limits performance."

18 months after losing the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties at Wembley, England was eliminated from the tournament by France in the quarterfinals.

In June, after losing to Hungary 4-0 at Molineux in the Nations League, the squad was jeered off the field. This was only one in a string of dismal performances that led up to the winter World Cup.

He revealed to BBC Sport for the first time how he came to that choice, saying, "I never want to be in a position where my presence is negatively affecting the team.

"I didn't believe that was the case, but I just wanted a period after the World Cup to reflect and make sure that was still how it felt."

The 52-year-old said he asked himself: "Is it the right thing to keep taking this project on? I wanted to make sure I'm still fresh and hungry for that challenge."

Describing his role as "the greatest privilege of my life", he said the decision to stay was ultimately "not difficult" because of "the quality of performances and the progress that we're making".

"The team are still improving. We're all gaining belief in what we're doing," he said.