Aidy Boothroyd: England senior team's future 'not bleak'

The England U21s side beat hosts France in the final to win the Toulon Tournament for the first time since 1994

The future of the England senior team is "not bleak at all", according to under 19s coach Aidy Boothroyd.

The Three Lions went out of the Euro 2016 last 16 following a 2-1 defeat by minnows Iceland, with manager Roy Hodgson resigning on the same night.

Boothroyd's side begin their Under-19 Championship against France on Tuesday.

"This is what it is about," said Boothroyd. "Taking the players to tournaments, so that they can develop in those environments."

"They are with players they can grow with and go into the older age groups."

England under 19s have been drawn in Group B alongside the French, Netherlands and Croatia for the tournament in Germany.

England's Under 21 side won the Toulon Tournament in May under Gareth Southgate, while the under 17 side lost in the quarter-final of the European Championship to Spain.

"We want to be positive, it is not all doom and gloom," Boothroyd, 45, told BBC Radio 5 live.

Under Hodgson, the senior side reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 before going out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil at the group stages without winning a game.

Meanwhile Wales, under manager Chris Coleman, managed to provide one of the shocks of Euro 2016 by reaching the semi-finals where they lost 2-1 to tournament winners Portugal.

Former Watford boss Boothroyd added: "We have a plan and we have some good people in the system that are working really hard so that we can be proud of being English and not hear about the Welsh all the time.

"I can say that because my wife is Welsh. That is all I have heard about in my house.

"If you play in tournaments and win them, or get to the latter stages, then you are getting experiences. That is what we are looking to do. That is what the development programme is about.

"We want the players to get tournament football experiences so that we are strong and can deal with pressure and can cope with it."

See the full Under-19 Championship schedule