The former England captain started his sporting career as a goalkeeper but then decided to play as a striker because of his team’s “shabby” outfield players, and eventually found himself in defence due to their leaky back line.

He told FourFourTwo magazine: “My first memory of watching football on TV was the 1970 World Cup – I was eight, and Gordon [Banks]’ save from Pele is still the best I’ve ever seen.

“I still look back at that save and think, ‘How did he keep that out?’

“Gordon inspired me to become a goalkeeper – I won my first medal in that position, and only became an outfield player out of frustration.

“As a kid, the players in front of me were so shabby I thought, ‘I’ve got to go up top!’

“Then we might score six but still concede eight, and I got frustrated with that too, which is why I became a defender.”

The former England Under 21 manager thinks football can learn from other sports and recalled bringing jockey A.P McCoy into the FA to help aspiring coaches understand the “drive” needed to be a champion.

He said: “I’ve never met anyone as driven to be successful – to keep delivering and permanently be on a diet to keep your weight down, to be such a great professional, I admire that greatly.

“When I was working for the FA, I asked him to come and do a Q+A for people doing their UEFA Pro Licence, so they could hear how driven you had to be to become a champion.”