“WE’RE fans,” declared Gareth Southgate as he picked out a supporter in an Admiral World Cup shirt from an assembled group of 70 of the official England Travel Supporters Club at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium yesterday. 

“That was the first shirt I had in ’82 as a kid. I was the one coming home from school watching Bryan Robson score after 27 seconds against France. I had the same dreams as the kids in the room.” 

At the first of two fans’ forums hosted by the Football Association as part of a pre-tournament charm offensive, the England manager was at pains to impress upon his team’s long-suffering supporters that he and his squad were cut from the same cloth.