FOOTBALL management can be a minefield of aggravation at the best of times but there is no harder aspect of the job than axing the most famous and celebrated player in the team.
History is full of reminders that it can go spectacularly wrong - think of how Graham Taylor never really recovered as England manager after his shock decision to substitute Gary Lineker in the second half of a Euro 92 defeat by Sweden which sent them tumbling out of the tournament.
We can recall, too, how even the most imperious and successful bosses preferred to avoid a barrage of questions when they ruthlessly booted out a fans' hero - think of Sir Alex Ferguson on the chill Friday that he dispensed with Roy Keane at Manchester United.
That's why Gareth Southgate's handling of his move to drop England captain Wayne Rooney last week was so impressive.
That's why the Football Association should make him the permanent manager of the national team immediately.
Southgate answered all the questions hurled at him with honesty and clarity. The fact that Rooney chose to sit alongside him and take questions as well was testament to an admirable piece of man management.
This wasn't the work of an 'interim' boss. This wasn't a 'stand-in' covering up a grotesque mess with a few sticky-backed plasters.
He made the bold selection call that his predecessors, Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce, didn't have the nerve or gumption for.
No, there is no need for an England caretaker now.
Four weeks will pass before the next couple of matches are played, which is an age in football.
It is more than enough time to appoint a permanent manager (time enough, actually, to appoint and lose one as recent events proved).
Either the FA powerbrokers appreciate the dignity, respect and ruthlessness Southgate brings to the role - or they don't.
They have seen his work at close hand for long enough as the boss of the England U21s, who have just qualified for their European finals and who actually won the Toulon tournament last summer.
One truth is certain - that next month's World Cup qualifier against Scotland and the subsequent friendly international at home to Spain will not change the nature of Southgate as a football manager, whatever the scorelines of those fixtures.
He will not be a better or worse choice as England boss after those games, just as he wasn't after the 2-0 victory against Malta and the 0-0 draw away to Slovenia.
To believe so is merely to capitulate to the stupid and self-destructive short-term thinking that is so ruinous throughout modern football.
The FA must not dither. They responded swiftly and sensibly to the Allardyce affair.
Surely they see the crucial need for stability now?
Having made the toughest selection decision that was required for England, and having managed it with such aplomb, it would be lunacy to look elsewhere than Gareth Southgate, to install a fourth manager within half a year and spark another cycle of upheaval.
England's players, from the veteran Rooney to the novice Marcus Rashford and rejuvenated goalkeeper Joe Hart, will thank nobody for that.
The other man who deserves huge credit right now is Rooney, who did not abandon playing for his country because of his demotion.
Many star players in other nations with giant egos would have done so. We have seen it in the past with England, too.
The decision of Paul Scholes to quit international football when he didn't appreciate a changed midfield position was his choice - but it's not one that we have to sympathise with.
Much was made of jeering towards Rooney in the match at Wembley last weekend. In reality, it was very tame stuff in a crowd where many thousands were wide-eyed children.
His continued commitment to the national team is to be commended. Rooney will be a valuable presence on and off the field; whether he plays mostly as a super-sub or can fight his way back into the starting line-up.
We can recall, too, how even the most imperious and successful bosses preferred to avoid a barrage of questions when they ruthlessly booted out a fans' hero - think of Sir Alex Ferguson on the chill Friday that he dispensed with Roy Keane at Manchester United.
That's why Gareth Southgate's handling of his move to drop England captain Wayne Rooney last week was so impressive.
That's why the Football Association should make him the permanent manager of the national team immediately.
Southgate answered all the questions hurled at him with honesty and clarity. The fact that Rooney chose to sit alongside him and take questions as well was testament to an admirable piece of man management.
This wasn't the work of an 'interim' boss. This wasn't a 'stand-in' covering up a grotesque mess with a few sticky-backed plasters.
He made the bold selection call that his predecessors, Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce, didn't have the nerve or gumption for.
No, there is no need for an England caretaker now.
Four weeks will pass before the next couple of matches are played, which is an age in football.
It is more than enough time to appoint a permanent manager (time enough, actually, to appoint and lose one as recent events proved).
Either the FA powerbrokers appreciate the dignity, respect and ruthlessness Southgate brings to the role - or they don't.
They have seen his work at close hand for long enough as the boss of the England U21s, who have just qualified for their European finals and who actually won the Toulon tournament last summer.
One truth is certain - that next month's World Cup qualifier against Scotland and the subsequent friendly international at home to Spain will not change the nature of Southgate as a football manager, whatever the scorelines of those fixtures.
He will not be a better or worse choice as England boss after those games, just as he wasn't after the 2-0 victory against Malta and the 0-0 draw away to Slovenia.
To believe so is merely to capitulate to the stupid and self-destructive short-term thinking that is so ruinous throughout modern football.
The FA must not dither. They responded swiftly and sensibly to the Allardyce affair.
Surely they see the crucial need for stability now?
Having made the toughest selection decision that was required for England, and having managed it with such aplomb, it would be lunacy to look elsewhere than Gareth Southgate, to install a fourth manager within half a year and spark another cycle of upheaval.
England's players, from the veteran Rooney to the novice Marcus Rashford and rejuvenated goalkeeper Joe Hart, will thank nobody for that.
The other man who deserves huge credit right now is Rooney, who did not abandon playing for his country because of his demotion.
Many star players in other nations with giant egos would have done so. We have seen it in the past with England, too.
The decision of Paul Scholes to quit international football when he didn't appreciate a changed midfield position was his choice - but it's not one that we have to sympathise with.
Much was made of jeering towards Rooney in the match at Wembley last weekend. In reality, it was very tame stuff in a crowd where many thousands were wide-eyed children.
His continued commitment to the national team is to be commended. Rooney will be a valuable presence on and off the field; whether he plays mostly as a super-sub or can fight his way back into the starting line-up.
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