At the end of a bad week for English football comes an uplifting hour at Burnley’s training ground in the company of one of the young players national coach Gareth Southgate will think about ahead of naming his first squad on Sunday.
Even before Sam Allardyce’s fall from grace, he had defender Michael Keane in mind and the 23-year-old had no hesitation in revealing his ambitions ahead of his team’s Premier League game against Arsenal at Turf Moor on Sunday.
‘It’s always in the back of my mind,’ said Keane. ‘It’s an aim to get in the England team and I hope it happens sooner rather than later.