Gareth Southgate has won Coach of the Year at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year awards.

The Crawley-born football manager picked up the award after leading England to the semi-finals of this year’s World Cup.

After winning the award, he said: “I’m incredibly proud to receive the award. If you win as a coach, it means your players have done something right.

“We have an exceptional group of players, I have an incredible support team and this is a very special night for them.

Southgate united the nation in support of the national side, who beat Sweden, Colombia, Panama and Tunisia on the way to the final four.

During this run, there were calls for a statue of the coach, wearing one of his customary waistcoats, to be built in his hometown.

An online petition for the structure to be built received widespread support with hundreds of people signing.

England were eventually knocked out of the competition.

After taking the lead early on against Croatia by a pinpoint Kieran Trippier free-kick, the side’s aspirations to “bring football home” were dashed as they narrowly lost 2-1.

They then lost the third place play-off match to Belgium, finishing fourth overall.

England have qualified for the tournament fourteen times in their history, and have been present at every competition since 1950.

This was their best finish since winning the World Cup in 1966, marking an astounding achievement for Southgate and his team.

But, Southgate revealed that he was not content and looked to improve on this result next time around.

He said: “Ultimately, we didn’t quite win and I’m conscious of that. Until we all win together then we won’t rest, we won’t sit back and be satisfied.

“Sport is about inspiring people, and we loved the journey with you.”