Phil Neville is back where it all began. A month ago he sat at the same beachside restaurant on the pebbly Mediterranean shoreline, just beneath the Promenade des Anglais, and talked about trying to win the World Cup. Four weeks on England manager’s suntan is several shades deeper but Neville has failed, albeit narrowly, to lead the Lionesses into Sunday’s final in Lyon.

Speaking before the defeat in the third-place play‑off against Sweden on Saturday, he seems to be still in Nice in body only but, contrary to rumours swirling around the Côte d’Azur, the former Manchester United defender is not eyeing a lucrative ticket back into the men’s game.

“The last 18 months have given me things no other job could have done,” he says. “You read stories, people saying: ‘What’s the next move?’ but I can’t think of a better job. I’m with an organisation [the FA] that backs anything I want. I get a set of players that sing and play to my tune; I’ve got scope to make an impact on people’s lives.”

Accordingly one of football’s most hyperactive minds has already moved on to Tokyo, where he will lead an 18-strong GB squad at next year’s Olympics and, after that, back to England, for Euro 2021.

It is indicative that, in his hotel room in the hours before Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat by the United States, Neville was busy identifying which players he would soon be saying farewell to and their likely replacements. Which is not to say the agonising reverse to Jill Ellis’s side on the sultriest of Lyon nights has left him immune from painful introspection.

“Straight afterwards I was fine,” says England’s manager. “But the next morning I was angry, disappointed, frustrated. I thought we’d win but we were a little bit short. The mindset’s got to change. We do 12 reps now; we’ve got to start doing 16. The players realise they’ve got to give an extra five or 10%.”

A “truth and honesty” session in Nice on Thursday morning beckoned. “We spoke the honest truth to each other, cleared the air, put everything on the table,” he says. “Sometimes in life you have people around you who don’t always tell you the truth but I did – I told them we need to start working harder or we’ll never get past the semi‑final stage.

“So our work’s got to get even more brutal. I’ve got to be more ruthless; I take responsibility; I should probably have got another five or 10% out of them. They need to know winning involves pain and sacrifice, mentally, technically and physically.”

Victory will also necessitate squad refreshment. “But I don’t see a mass change of personnel,” he says. “We’re a young squad. Some players will be moved on and some won’t make the standard but we’ve widened the pool so that we’ve got another 13 to 14 ready to come in.

“I came into this job with no previous knowledge of the women’s game. That’s actually been a benefit; it’s opened up opportunities for players people told me should never play for England. I’ve introduced ideas probably no one else was thinking of.”

Eighteen months into the role he is not ready to walk away, even if an improved deal would not go amiss. “I’m committed,” he says. “I don’t see another job which would give me what I have now. I can’t think of a better one. I love my job, I’m happy.”

Phil Neville consoles Steph Houghton after England’s semi-final defeat against the United States. Photograph: Molly Darlington - AMA/Getty Images

“I’m contracted until the end of Euro 2021 and, as long as the FA keep backing me and the players show the same kind of thirst for learning, I’ll be here until then. But I’m the kind of person that, if the players get bored of my ideas and stop listening, then I’ll say: ‘Thanks very much, you’ve given me the best time of my life,’ and empty my office.”

In the meantime Neville has unfinished business. “Losing the semi-final does feel like failure. We wanted gold. The texts coming through saying, ‘You’ve inspired the nation’ are lovely but annoying. I’ve been brought up where winning’s the only thing that matters.”

Small wonder he will refuse any invitations for a red carpet return. “I don’t want it. The players don’t want it either. They’ve not earned it. They’d feel embarrassed. If we had an open-top bus tour around Trafalgar Square, it would be sending completely the wrong message. A trip to Downing Street would be celebrating failure.”

Quick Guide What next for Phil Neville's England? Show This is very much the start of the Lionesses’ journey. In 2017, when the FA launched its Gameplan for Growth for the women’s game, with success on the world stage at its centre, they targeted having the “potential to win the 2023 Fifa World Cup”. The 2019 instalment was seen as a step too soon, the pathways had not been built, the talent centres in their infancy, the professional game still had, and has, a long way to go. The Lionesses have, in that sense, overachieved. Now, though, the future is bright with three tournament semi-finals a sign of the structure being built below the national team. England’s run in France secured a Team GB trip for the Tokyo Olympics next year. After that will be a home European Championships in 2021. England have not hosted a major competition since Euro 2005 and now the women’s game is on a new level. This is followed by the World Cup in 2023 – and that is the target. Fixtures

3 Sept v Norway Bergen, 5.30pm

9 Nov v Germany Wembley, 5.30pm

Yet despite England’s third consecutive semi-final exit from a major tournament, Neville acknowledges his squad contains some excellent veterans capable of finally changing that narrative.

“There’s no way I’m letting Jill Scott retire in the next two years. The same goes for Steph Houghton and Karen Bardsley, They’re too good, they’ve been our best players, the spine of our team.

“But 12 months ago we finished third in the under-20s World Cup. We’ve had 11 of those players train with us, under the radar. We divide them into gold, silver and bronze types and we’ve probably got eight gold star players in that group. They’ll be in the Euro 2021 squad.

“Manchester City’s Lauren Hemp is one and we have to get them involved quickly but I’m not going to give them caps just because they’ve got potential. They’ve got to be better than players performing at world-class level. That’s an unbelievable challenge but, all of a sudden, we’re going to have real competition for places.”

More immediately a holiday beckons. “I just want to lie on a sun lounger,” he concedes. “And go to Wimbledon.”