There was an air of inevitability long before confirmation landed that Gareth Southgate would step away from the often thankless environs of the England job. All the clues were there.
As the Football Association and punters alike ponder his successor, there is also a question about what next for Southgate. Have the past eight years fuelled a desire to return at the earliest available opportunity or quashed his appetite? Straight back on the horse or a secluded holiday? Horseshoe television-studio sofa or slogging it out on the touchline? A round of Neil Warnock-style stage shows, the after-dinner circuit?
