Barry’s unassuming manner filters through. What about the goals he scored for Villa? ‘There were a lot of penalties,’ he said.

How about the 50th cap in a win against Spain? ‘I came on and ground it out for 20 minutes.’

Team-mates, those who know him best, hold him in the highest esteem. David Silva voted for him as Player of the Year and Mancini called for him to be England captain.

‘Gareth’s the man, simple as that,’ said Joe Hart. ‘He leads by example. No messing around, he never moans. When you start to panic, look at Gareth and he just keeps doing what he’s doing in his unselfish role. We know what a massive role he plays at our club and he does the same for England.’

The fashion for a five-man midfield with two sitting deep has helped Barry develop. At Aston Villa, he was an inspirational skipper with freedom to roam. At City he refined his role.‘I think that
England game, against Israel (in 2007), when I came in for Owen Hargreaves and played alongside Steven Gerrard was the start of my transition from the box-to-box midfielder to someone who would sit a bit more,’ he said.

‘It probably suited me but it wasn’t until I was about 26 that I really tried to learn the defensive role. Even now, people say I’m not a specialist defensive midfielder for that reason.’

Hodgson will offer the first clues to his strategy in Saturday’s friendly in Norway and Barry believes there are reasons for quiet optimism under a manager with a reputation as a deep-thinking tactician.

‘Spain don’t just have one or two who can get on the ball in tight areas, they’ve six or seven,’ said Barry. ‘They have a fantastic group of players who for me are a step above anyone else.

‘They play the game the people want to see. It’s different to England at the minute. We haven’t got that group of players. If you’re comparing, they’re at a different level. But it doesn’t mean you can’t beat them as we saw in the friendly at Wembley. It might not have been beautiful to watch but it proved England can beat the best.

‘I’m not a manager and I don’t want to be one, but for the players, it’s so important to look at the opposition and work out how to beat them, rather than just saying, these are the best players, go and play.

‘Especially in tournaments, you’ve got to look at your opponents and their strengths and get the team in the right formation to win.’

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