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previously and turned them into outstanding technical, thinking footballers. I thought he would be perfect to develop those ideas with England. I don’t think a guy like Brendan would be a gamble for England at all. At Swansea he had Garry Monk, a journeyman professional who used to be with Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday and Torquay United among others, and Ashley Williams, 159 games for Stockport County, and suddenly they were knocking it about like Franz Beckenbauer and passing the ball into midfield. I thought if Brendan could do that with them, what would he be like with Rio and Terry, or Rooney and Gerrard?
    And Brendan was up for it. I told him I wanted England to play with as much technical ambition as Swansea and that he would be ideal for the summer tournament; and he seemed really keen. If I got the job, he said, he would speak to the people at Swansea to get their permission. ‘It would be a great experience for you, Brendan,’ I told him. ‘I want England to play like you play. Pass the ball, play and play and play.’ Some people reading this may think it means I was distracted, but I can assure you the conversation took five minutes and the idea was in my head before the job becameavailable. I had been saying it for months previously, that the FA should get a guy like Brendan Rodgers involved with England. I was convinced his way should be England’s way, too. So there was never a distraction. I was still totally focused on Tottenham. And we beat Swansea 3–1 that day, by the way.
    So on 1 April I was contemplating the way forward for England with Brendan Rodgers – and on 29 April the FA offered the job to Roy Hodgson. I’ll admit, I thought it was mine. Everyone seemed so certain, everyone I met from all parts of the game seemed utterly convinced it was my job. I went to a dinner for the London Football Coaches Association, and Gareth Southgate got me up on stage and interviewed me as if I were the next England manager. Sir Trevor Brooking was there that night, too. He was on the FA panel charged with making the appointment. It was not as if he walked out in protest at what Gareth, another FA man, did. I was being made to feel that I was the only show in town.
    We had played very well against Blackburn Rovers on the day of Roy’s appointment, winning 2–0. I was staying in London that night and I was just pulling into the car park at the hotel when a newsflash came on the radio to say Roy had been offered the England job. It felt strange. After all the speculation it would have been understandable had I been disappointed, but I had a greater feeling of a weight being taken off. Yes, it was a shock, but it meant that, in the end, I didn’t have a decision to make. I didn’t have to choose between my club and England. The FA had made the call for me. It had been one hell of a year, first with the trial and then this. Now, I thought, it was really back to normal. No more questions, no more dilemmas. I could just get on with managing Tottenham and now, with England gone, I couldn’t see myself leaving the club.The FA’s decision came as a surprise, but I wasn’t about to lock myself in my room with a bottle of whisky. I think some people were more upset about it than I was. I was at Tottenham for the long haul, definitely now. I wasn’t reeling around, thinking, ‘Oh my God, what has just happened?’ Standing in a dock wondering if you would be going to prison for two years alters your perspective on life. Oh well, that’s how it goes. I had a good job at Tottenham before, I thought, and I’ve got a good job now. No harm done.
    Obviously, I’ve had some time to reflect on it all since and, looking back, perhaps the FA did me a favour. If I’m truthful, I don’t know how much I would have enjoyed the job as they now see it. I don’t think spending time with the FA people or up at Burton-on-Trent, where the new training centre is based, is my bag. I wouldn’t rule out international management,