Jamie Carragher feels Gareth Southgate has not been given the credit by many he deserves and should consider walking away from his role as England manager after the World Cup.
Southgate is England's second most-successful manager after World Cup-winning boss Sir Alf Ramsey, having led the Three Lions to a semi-final and a final at the last two major tournaments. England are among the favourites to triumph in Qatar, though Southgate has faced recent criticism, particularly after their poor showing in the Nations League.
Carragher feels the "mood has shifted" since those performances in the summer and believes Southgate may be aware this World Cup could be his final tournament if he wants to bow out on a high.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Carragher urged Southgate to use the upcoming World Cup as his "swansong" and step down from his post after the tournament, whatever the result. "Hopefully England will produce to a strong enough level to ensure that is Southgate’s call," Carragher said.
"After his excellence in the job to this point, the least he deserves is to leave on his own terms when he feels the time is right. He is intelligent enough to have sensed a mood shift over the last few months, even if some of the negativity surrounding him during the build-up to the tournament is a joke."
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Carragher went on to explain how he feels Southgate's pragmatic and cautious approach to tournaments is beginning to wear thin with sections of the England fanbase. But the former England international was keen to dispel any suggestions Southgate's squad is the best since Ramsey's side from 1966, branding any such notion a "myth".
"He has not failed to get the most of a talented squad, as some argue," Carragher insisted. "He has overperformed with a very good bunch." The pundit used the 2006 World Cup squad, which he was apart of, as an example; a selection of players previously dubbed England's 'Golden Generation'.
That group, led by Sven Goran-Eriksson, included some of the finest England players in recent memory, including Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Michael Owen.
Carragher claims that England squad contained "at least nine" players who would force their way into "any club side in the world", but only picked out three of England's current crop - Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham - who could be regarded at the same level.
For that reason, Carragher insisted England's progress beyond the quarter-finals in Qatar would "exceed expectations" and raised doubts over whether they could even be considered among the strongest four teams in the tournament.
Southgate signed a new contract with England this time last year which runs until December 2024, effectively keeping him in charge for the next European Championships in Germany in two years' time. However, the 52-year-old insisted back in June he would not "outstay my welcome" in the Three Lions hot-seat amid pressure following their Nations League failure.
Carragher believes stepping aside before a new four-year cycle for the next World Cup begins would be the right thing to do for Southgate, despite conceding it would be the "most difficult decision" of his career. He added: "My hope for Qatar is England to again retain interest in the competition until the final week to give Southgate the option of leaving the job through the front door with his head held high."
