Steve Holland deserves enormous credit for England reaching their first final in a major tournament since the success of 1966, according to David Artell.

Holland has assisted Gareth Southgate since their time together with England Under-21s and after reaching the World Cup semi-final in Russia in 2018, they are now gone one step further in the European Championships and we all have Sunday’s final against Roberto Mancini’s Italy to look forward to!

Holland, who served Crewe Alexandra for over 15 years as an Academy coach and then first-team manager, is one of the most decorated English coaches of all time following his successes with Chelsea and Artell says that to go on to win something for the country would even eclipse all that.

Artell told crewealex.net: “I think everyone can see that Steve (Holland) is an integral part of it.

“Everyone who has met the guy will know what a humble and terrific guy he is. He is a terrific coach, the best of the best and he and Gareth deserve all the plaudits coming their way. They have guided the country to a final for the first time since 1966 and that is a terrific achievement in itself but I know they will already thinking about Sunday, the Italians, and what is needed to lift that trophy.

“Gareth knows the value of Steve. He is a tactical genius and they are both emotionally detached from it, in the heat of the battle. It is a great trait to have. Gareth is there in the technical area and you can see that he is thinking things through. They deserve the biggest credit going for what they have done.

“This hasn’t happened overnight. England won tournaments at Under-17 and Under-19 level and Gareth and Steve worked together at Under-21 level before moving to the seniors. They are now reaping the rewards and it takes time.

“We know that more than most clubs and they know they have to keep building behind because if they do they can keep on producing the players to be competitive at International level and to progress at these tournaments.

“Steve would have helped with that process and we cannot speak any higher of the fella than here.”