Hoddle took up coaching following encouragement from his boss at Monaco, Arsene Wenger. He won acclaim at Swindon and Chelsea before being offered the England job.

It is his first major championship in charge after taking over from Terry Venables following Euro 96. Sensibly Hoddle has not made wholesale changes but built on the solid foundation left by Venables.

He lacked the experience or coaching pedigree of many of his predecessors, but he was the right man at the right time and there were few creditable alternatives. Qualifying for France ahead of Italy was an enormous confidence boost.

Hoddle defends his decision to employ a faith healer [2'31'']

Hoddle, a born-again Christian, has a calm attitude. As a player, he used a faith healer to help him overcome injuries and despite ridicule from the media has used her again to get the best out of his players before France.