England assistant manager Ray Lewington has admitted that it will take time to fill the void left by Steven Gerrard's departure from the national side.
The former skipper called time on his Three Lions career at the end of last year's disappointing World Cup showing, having won 114 caps across a 14-year spell.
England's current Euro 2016 qualifying campaign is the first since Gerrard announced his international retirement, and Lewington admits that the recently-departed Liverpool midfielder's influence has been missed.
"The one thing that you notice working with Stevie is for one, off the field he's an incredibly nice fella, very modest, eager to come in and give his thoughts - he's totally honest," the 58-year-old is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
"The other thing that really strikes you is you don't realise what a good player he is. After the first few training sessions I said to Roy 'bloody hell he's good you know'. He's a special player and someone we'll miss. He's hard to replace, but we will."
Roy Hodgson's side have won all five of their competitive games since the 2014 World Cup.
