"Regretfully you will have heard that my contract with the FA has been terminated by mutual consent.

"I accept that I made a serious error of judgement in an interview which caused misunderstanding and pain to a number of people. This was never my intention and for this I apologise.

"My sincere thanks for the support from loved ones, family, friends and media colleagues who have worked with me over the past few days to try and establish the truth.

"My personal thanks go to all my staff, colleagues, and in particular the players with whom I have worked with over the past few years as England coach. I thank them deeply.

"My best wishes go to Howard Wilkinson and to John Gorman who take over for the match against France at Wembley this month."