“Look at Spain. We’re an island. We’ve got to get off the island and learn from them.
“Being an island saved us in 1945 but I’m not sure it’s helped us ever since.
“We need to look in the mirror and change the way we do things — tactically, with our physical preparation, our style of play and mentality. We’ve had success in every other sport in our country. We’re probably the missing piece.
“The lads see one league, they see Sky Sports News, they think we’re at the centre of the earth. We are not.
“Other countries are quite happy to say nice things to us and then they pack us off and think, ‘God, we’ve got rid of them’. That’s how it feels to me and I don’t like it.”