Sky Sports and ITV pundit Gary Neville believes the England job took “a toll” on Gareth Southgate following the news that the 53-year-old has stepped down from his role as coach. 

Southgate held the role for eight years and having originally been met with a lot of pessimism, the former defender has gone on to become one of the most successful Three Lions bosses ever.

The 53-year-old took his squad to two European Championship finals and reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018.

More importantly, he brought the England players closer together and made the camp a happier place by taking some of the media pressure off of his team. Some of the nation’s biggest stars over the last eight years would run to hell and back for Southgate, which says everything about his time in charge of the Three Lions.

Gary Neville believes that the former Middlesborough manager “exceeded all expectations” and has done an outstanding job throughout his reign. However, the Sky Sports pundit also feels that the role took “a toll” on the 53-year-old.

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Gary Neville on Gareth Southgate’s time as England coach

Speaking about Southgate’s time as England coach, Neville has praised the 53-year-old and his work to make the England camp a more harmonious place.

“He has had an amazing eight years and exceeded all expectations of every single England fan,” he told Sky Sports via BBC. “He deserves to call it a day on his own terms, and he has done that. He knows England better than anybody. It was the right moment for him, he has done an outstanding job.

“He has achieved incredible things on the pitch, but he has also achieved incredible things off the pitch. How difficult it is to manage the politics of England, the media, the club-versus-country rivalries which existed, he has removed a lot of those barriers. He has handled penalties better than anybody, reduced the fear, so he has done an incredible job, but it will have taken a toll on him.”