Of course, the FA will have plans to deal with a day they knew would come. But that won’t make it any easier to fulfil a role that is unique in terms of responsibility, expectation and pressure.

Many have already drawn up their own shortlists, including Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp. And I can see arguments for all three.

They all have experience of the English game and have worked with or competed against many of the current squad. They all enjoy playing attacking, flowing football, which suits the current demographic of the squad. They all have extensive experience of working with big teams and world-class players. Crucially, all three men are currently unemployed and, with the exception of Klopp, would probably be more than happy to take the job first thing in the morning.

While I still prefer an English manager in charge of England, I wouldn’t be discouraged if one of those guys moved into Southgate’s office. Once they took down the posters proclaiming the importance of 11 men behind the ball and all the self-help books on how to be more decisive, they could get to work on shaping a great collection of individual players into a cohesive team.

But there is a problem. The FA.

Over the last decade they have rightly made it their mission to promote English football, English players and English coaches. They have spent hundreds of millions building St George’s Park and promoting it as a centre of excellence, focused on improving everything about the English game.

It would be a very bad impression if they were to turn around now and appoint a foreign manager. It would be tantamount to admitting that one of the most important elements of their primary mission has been a complete failure. Which is in fact the case.

So rather than admitting that they have not achieved their goals, I expect the FA to pretend that everything is going according to plan and that English coaches are better than ever. And the only way they can do that is by appointing an Englishman.

And that makes the shortlist a bit disappointing.

Eddie Howe is the obvious candidate and the current favourite. He has done an excellent job at Newcastle United and would not seem out of place as a manager in the upper echelons of the Premier League. On the other hand, he has never played for England and has zero first-hand experience of international football. And Newcastle will want a hefty compensation to part with their manager, which is hard to justify when there are other, cheaper, options.

Then there is Graham Potter, who is available, but some will argue that he is available for a reason, as he has done little to nothing of note during his short spell at Chelsea. I still think that given the time he would have done well at Stamford Bridge, but we will never know, and that makes him inexperienced at the highest level of the game. And like Howe, he has no personal experience of major tournaments or playing for his country.

Then there is Lee Carsley, the current Under-21 manager who won the European Championship with his young team last summer. If the FA are looking for continuity, this could be the perfect move. He knows most of the current squad inside out, has been with the organisation for a number of years and only has to move a few doors down.

But on the other hand, he has no experience of coaching big names and, more worryingly, he played international football for Ireland, which calls his Englishness into question.

Apart from that trio, the other English contenders are likely to be Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. What they lack in mainstream management experience, they make up for in their extensive knowledge of the international game. They have done so many times for their country and that helps them command respect. But will that be enough to win over the FA decision-makers?

In fairness, if the FA feel compelled to breed themselves, they don’t have the luxury of a deep and extensive pool of coaching talent to dip their toes into. But you also have to say that in many ways it’s their own fault that they haven’t done more to bring in a new generation of English managers over the last decade.

Ultimately I don’t expect this to be a slow process. England have competitive games in the Nations League over the next few months and I don’t think the FA want to go into that with a temporary manager running the show.

So, who do I think the new, improved, lemon-scented version of Southgate will be?

I think the FA will make all the right politically correct noises during the process, including throwing around slogans about promoting ethnic diversity during the interviews.

They will then explain how they were incredibly thorough in their recruitment campaign, interviewing a huge number of candidates, looking at all options and not ruling anyone out for the role, regardless of age, colour or creed.

And then they’ll appoint Lee Carsley.

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Twitter: @maltablade