Friday 30 September 2016 06:34, UK
As Gareth Southgate hastily prepares for his first match in charge of England, following Sam Allardyce's departure, Peter Taylor - himself a former caretaker of the national team - has some advice for the interim boss.
Taylor - who looked after the Three Lions before Sven-Goran Eriksson's arrival in 2000 - famously handed David Beckham the captain's armband in his one game in charge, a 1-0 defeat away to Italy.
However, with Southgate facing three qualifiers and a friendly with Spain in his initial four-game spell, Taylor says the former defender is in a different position to himself, knowing these fixtures are effectively his audition for the top job.
Here are Taylor's four tips for success…
Focus on victory
"Gareth has four matches at least but three of them are qualifying games and I'm sure at the end of that run he'll want to be permanent manager. That's why it's different to me. It's important he goes and wins those three qualifying matches - the Spain game doesn't matter so much. The fixtures with Malta, Slovenia and Scotland are very important.
I sent out a team against Italy which wasn't must-win, it was a friendly. I knew it was a one-off and we played some younger players. Southgate can't afford to be too experimental.
"I see this as an audition for him. He'd have seen Roy Hodgson work, seen Sam Allardyce work for a short period, and he'll have his own idea on how he wants to do things. But these are games he must win. I sent out a team against Italy which wasn't must-win, it was a friendly. I knew it was a one-off and we played some younger players. Southgate can't afford to be too experimental."
Play Rooney
"People talk about whether Southgate should make his mark by changing the captain. Well, I certainly wouldn't.
"Wayne Rooney would be the first man in the squad, for me. In fact, he'd be the first man on the team sheet. The reason for that is we simply haven't got enough experience in the squad at the moment. I know Malta won't be the strongest of opponents but we still need Rooney's experience to help the younger players."
Don't change too much
"I don't expect Southgate to change too much for his first round of fixtures and that's the right thing to do. You'll only open yourself up to problems if you change too much.
"The last game England played, they won 1-0 away against the toughest team they'll face in this group, so there's no need to change. Even though they won 1-0 late on, there were lots of positive things in the game, so there's not a need for Gareth to change too much."
Listen to Sam's staff
"Up until this week, Southgate's focus will have been on the Under-21s, that's true. But he'll also have had reports on the senior team's games and, ahead of the matches with Malta and Slovenia he'll have all the back-up he needs.
"Just picture it: he goes into St George's every day for work and I'm sure it's a close-knit operation there, so he'll be well aware of what's going on with the senior team. I also hope he decides to keep Sam's assistant Sammy Lee on board. He knows all the levels and seniors well, he'd be popular there and an important figure for Gareth to bounce off.
"The people behind the scenes at the FA are magnificent at doing all the organisation and planning, too. They don't get enough credit for that. Everything - from training pitches to hotels - will be planned perfectly for these fixtures. Gareth doesn't need to worry about that.
"He just needs to focus on getting the right results from these upcoming fixtures. Whether he's then done enough to impress the FA and earn an offer for the permanent job, we'll have to wait and see."
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