England manager Gareth Southgate had doubts over his future ahead of the World Cup but is now targeting Euro 2024 success.
The Three Lions reached the quarter-finals in Qatar, losing 2-1 to eventual runners-up France, though had up to that point been one of the most impressive teams in the tournament.
Yet his position had been called into question in some quarters given England's poor form prior to the World Cup.
After starting 2022 with friendly wins over Switzerland and Ivory Coast in March, England failed to win any of their six Nations League matches, with their campaign including a humbling 4-0 home defeat to Hungary.
A 3-3 draw with Germany in September gave Southgate cause for optimism, but he conceded he came close to calling it a day.
"The doubts I had came before the [World Cup], really," Southgate told reporters after naming his squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.
"I spoke about this a couple of months ago so I'm going over old ground, but I never wanted to be a divisive figure, in terms of me doing the job affecting the performance of the team.
"Then there would be a debate where people say 'I'd rather you lose so you're gone'. I did worry before the World Cup whether I should say I was going at the end, to allow the team the freedom to play.
"I decided not to do that, because when we left Wembley after the Germany game there was an uplift with the mood, and we've always known where we stand with the players.
"I also wanted to show that you've got to come through tough spells as a manager, I'm not going to duck a challenge just because there's criticism.
"But if there's not the level of support and it starts to affect the team, that's something I'm conscious of and that was my thought well ahead of Qatar."
Having committed to staying on for the Euros in Germany next year, Southgate is now looking for a fresh start as he set out his aim for England to go a step further than they managed in the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, when they lost to Italy on penalties in the final.
"I think it's right to assess after a tournament," he added. "We have to start from scratch.
"We have some great experiences over the last few years, which mean being European champions is a realistic aim.
"But we're starting from the beginning again, and we've got to find the hunger to qualify.
"We've got two crucial games and we need everybody firing for two really difficult qualifiers."
Southgate stuck with the majority of his World Cup squad for the first fixtures of 2023, though Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben White both missed out, with Conor Coady replaced by March Guehi.
Ivan Toney was included despite an ongoing Football Association (FA) investigation into alleged breaches of gambling rules, while Raheem Sterling was absent due to injury.
Man Utd back-up goalkeeper Heaton out 'for several matches'
Manchester United back-up goalkeeper Tom Heaton has been ruled out until mid-April with an ankle injury.
The 36-year-old has featured twice for United this season, keeping clean sheets in the EFL Cup wins over Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest.
However, Heaton was not part of Erik ten Hag's squad for the dramatic 3-1 FA Cup victory against Fulham prior to the international break after sustaining an injury in training.
And a club statement confirmed on Thursday the three-cap England international will miss "several of United's upcoming matches".
"Unfortunately, the day before the Fulham game I rolled my ankle in training," Heaton said.
"Thankfully, it's not too bad but it'll mean a couple of weeks out. I should be back some point in April, hopefully halfway through.
"It's an occupational hazard unfortunately, a bit of a random one. I just went over on the ankle and nicked the ligament."
January recruit Jack Butland will now provide competition for first-choice keeper David de Gea, who has played the full 90 minutes in 42 of United's 46 games this season.
No human rights abusers, tax evaders, fraudsters: Premier League sets new rules to vet club owners and directors
The Premier League will be entitled to disqualify club owners and directors for human rights abuses, under new rules revealed on Thursday.
That was one of the outcomes of a shareholders' meeting as the league tightened up restrictions on who should be allowed to own and govern its clubs.
It was announced there would be increased clarity and transparency regarding due diligence carried out in the case of takeovers, as well as annual checks to determine directors remained compliant.
The owners' and directors' test (OADT) has faced plenty of scrutiny, mainly but not exclusively relating to the influx of money pouring into the league from overseas, with huge investments in Premier League clubs coming largely from the United States and the Middle East.
This update coincides with Manchester United, the Premier League's most successful club, being targeted for a possible takeover by wealthy prospective buyers from various quarters of the globe.
The league said it had carried out a thorough review and stated clubs agreed the changes should take effect immediately, with all decisions to be reviewed by an independent panel.
It said the threshold to determine who held control of a club would be lowered from a 30 per cent to 25 per cent stake, while chief executives would be among those coming "within the scope of the OADT".
Along with human rights abuses, which the league said would be based on the UK government's Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020, it was decided that a situation where a person or company is subject to government sanctions would qualify as a disqualifying event.
The Premier League disqualified Roman Abramovich as owner of Chelsea in March of last year, soon after government sanctions were imposed on the oligarch following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It led to the club being sold to a consortium led by American Todd Boehly.
Anyone convicted of violence, corruption, fraud, tax evasion and hate crimes also faces the prospect of disqualification under the new guidance, and anyone under investigation for a potentially disqualifying event would also risk being prevented from becoming a club director.
Amid a number of further disqualifying circumstances, it was also decided the Premier League should clearly disclose who has been disqualified, as well as compiling an annual 'report of compliance'.
Springboks assistant Felix Jones to join England coaching staff in 2024
South Africa assistant Felix Jones will join England's coaching staff after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Jones featured 13 times for Ireland during his playing career, before taking on assistant coach roles with Munster and the Springboks.
England are planning ahead after a disappointing Six Nations campaign in which they finished in fourth place, losing three of their five games.
Speaking to the England Rugby website after the future appointment was confirmed, head coach Steve Borthwick expressed his excitement at eventually having Jones on board.
"We are continuing to build our programme to be in a position to compete to be world champions once again," Borthwick said. "At the same time, I also want to ensure we are preparing for long-term success for this England team, and I am excited that a coach as talented as Felix is joining next year.
"Felix has been competing at the top of world rugby during his four years with South Africa and will bring invaluable experience to our set-up. Like with Aled Walters, Felix was an integral part of the team that won the Rugby World Cup in 2019.
"Together with Richard Wigglesworth and Kevin Sinfield, we are putting in place a coaching team who have spent their careers at the highest level competing for trophies. That is exactly what we want for this England team."
Jones has worked with South Africa since 2019, and will join up with assistant Wigglesworth (assistant) and another former Springboks coach in Aled Walters (head of strength and conditioning) as well as Borthwick and Sinfield (defence coach) in 2024, with Wigglesworth and Walters due to come in at the end of the Premiership season.
"Coaching the Springboks is one of the biggest privileges in rugby and I intend to do everything I can to ensure the team is successful until the day my contract comes to its natural end," said Jones.
"The last four years has been an incredible journey for me and my family, both professionally and personally, I am indebted to so many people at the Springboks and in South Africa for that.
"My commitment to the Springboks until the end of the Rugby World Cup is unquestionable, and Rassie [Erasmus, director of rugby], Jacques [Nienaber, head coach] and the entire Springbok team know that.
"The next five months are going to be exciting and demanding, and I'm looking forward to preparing for the World Cup with this coaching team."
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