Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn has revealed that Gareth Southgate is now a "much stronger" candidate for the vacant England managerial job following his temporary spell in charge.
The 46-year-old saw his interim period as Three Lions boss come to an end on Tuesday evening with a 2-2 draw against Spain, making it an unbeaten four-game stint in charge of the national side.
England's players have already publicly backed Southgate to take the job on a long-term basis, and Glenn has now given the clearest indication yet that the former Middlesbrough manager could be handed a permanent deal, having seen him leave a positive mark since stepping up from his Under-21s duties.
"We said all along that Gareth, if he wanted the job, is clearly going to be considered as a strong candidate," Glenn is quoted as saying by The Telegraph. "We know him and we've seen him at close quarters for a couple of years so it helps that he understands how international football works. What we said however is that we need to take stock after the four games.
"There is quite a long gap between now and the next England game in March, so we've got time. We will ask Gareth to review in detail the last four games and give him a bit of time to do that because that is part of the process. We will take a bit of time to reflect, but hopefully not too long. It's important that we build the right platform for success in the future. We just need to weigh up all the facts and take the time to make the right decision.
"I won't be drawn on leading candidates but Gareth is a really strong candidate and clearly after the last four games his candidacy has become much stronger. Not just based on one or two matches, but because of what we've seen over the last couple of years. He's got renewed confidence and is a different manager to what he was two years ago. So it is not all about assessing him on a few games, you have got to see it more in the round."
Glenn, along with FA chairman Greg Clarke and technical director Dan Ashworth, will be responsible for the appointment of the next England manager.
The Three Lions return to competitive action next March when taking on Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium, four days after another high-profile game against Germany in Dortmund.
