Gareth Southgate wants a decision from the Football Association within the next two weeks about whether he will be England’s next manager, with Tuesday’s match against Spain at Wembley providing the chance to make himself a dead-cert to be the 15th permanent holder of the post.

The 46-year-old said after the emphatic 3-0 win over Scotland on Friday night that he welcomed competition for the position, though the governing body are already understood to be strongly minded that he should now get a three and a half year deal, with a break clause after the 2018 World Cup.

Asked if it was important for the situation to be resolved now, thus allowing him to plan, Southgate said: “I think [we need that] for everybody because we’ve got the European Under-21 Championships to prepare for and the seniors have got the next round of games to prepare for. Everybody is going to want to know by the end of November, middle of December where everything’s heading so that we can decide who is responsible for which parts of the organisation’s work. Whichever body of work that is remains to be seen.” He joked: “It would be important for me to know what I’m doing after the middle of November!”

Harry Kane has left the squad and returned to Tottenham Hotspur to work towards match fitness, having not arrived from the bench against the Scots following only 73 minutes of football since damaging his ankle against Sunderland on September 18. But with Daniel Sturridge, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott all options, England have not called up any replacements for the arrival of Julen Lopetegui’s Spain side.

Southgate – for whom Rashford, Walcott and Vardy are possible starters against Spain - felt that there was some courage in the way he asked the players to play out from the back against Gordon Strachan’s side and take “more risk” – despite the significance of a win to his hopes of being made permanent manager.

“It would be easy to say: ‘Scotland is a pivotal game in what we are trying to do so we won’t take any risks playing from the back. We won’t encourage the team to play, play percentage football and with better players we win the game,’” he observed. “Well, we didn’t want to do that, we wanted to play in a style which we believed was right in the long term, a style that would encourage our younger players. There is more risk in that.”

England vs Scotland player ratings Show all 30 1 /30 England vs Scotland player ratings England vs Scotland player ratings ENGLAND: 15-Mike Brown Busy game, his best for a while, not least for his left-footed kicking option. Equalled Matt Perry’s record as most-capped England full-back (36). 7/10 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 14-Anthony-Watson Frustrating day at the office. Did little wrong but not as involved as he should be. Still learning the Chris Ashton-style tracking skills. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 13-Jonathan Joseph Wonderful early try when he came short off Ford and jinked past Hogg for his fourth try of the tournament. Looked a class act once again. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 12-Luther Burrell Failed to trust his left-hand pass in first minute, butchering a try. Not hitting the heights of last year but offers a physical threat. AP England vs Scotland player ratings 11-Jack Nowell Relished the open spaces with ball in hand but blew a try and got sucked in too easily defensively. Still a work in progress at this level. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 10-George Ford Threatened Scotland throughout with his delayed passes on the gain-line. Ghosted through for valuable try soon after the break. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 9-Ben-Youngs Improvement from Dublin. Took more responsibility and varied his game well around fringes. Holding off Wigglesworth’s challenge. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 1-Joe Marler Penalised more than once at the scrum but, after 10 successive starts, has plenty of credit in the bank. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 2-Dylan Hartley His lineout arrows were slightly off. He remains under fierce pressure for the No 2 shirt from Tom Youngs. 5 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 3-Dan Cole Lucky to avoid yellow card for his goal-line lunge at the ruck. His discipline was a bit loose but put in good shift at the scrum. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 4 -Dave Atwood The Bath man is always a force in the maul and scrum but still needs to do bit more around the park. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 5-Courtney Lawes Big impact on his first appearance since the autumn. Prominent in lineout and put constant pressure on the Scots, as Russell can testify. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 6-James Haskell Questionable whether he is doing enough to fend off Wood’s challenge for the No 6 shirt. His forward pass denied Brown a second-half try. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 7-Chris Robshaw As consistent as ever. Stuart Lancaster’s fear must be whether the skipper can keep going at full throttle until the World Cup is done. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 8-Billy Vunipola Scotland kept him under wraps pretty well. Like Robshaw, no doubting his engine. His power from standing start is wondrous at times. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings SCOTLAND: 15-Stuart Hogg Saved Scotland three times with his last-ditch tackles on Burrell and Brown during the early English siege. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 14-Dougie Fife Will be pleased with his efforts after coming in for Sean Lamont. Did not look out of place and made crucial try-saving tackle on Nowell. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 13-Mark Bennett Looks set for a long spell in the No 13 shirt. The Glasgow centre took his try well and shows terrific composure for a 22-year-old. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 12-Matt Scott Flew out the line to provide Joseph with his fifth-minute try. First Test start for a year and looked like it. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 11-Tommy Seymour Forced to switch from right to left wing and coped efficiently. Honours even with his battle with Watson. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 10-Finn Russell Good touches though did not enjoy the close attentions of Lawes and Co. But Scots must keep the faith - he can get a back-line moving. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 9-Greig Laidlaw Raised the tempo when called for. The experienced No 9 is a vital presence in such a young back-line. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 1-Alasdair Dickinson Tends to fade in later part of the match but his lineout work is as good as at any time in his career. 5 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 2-Ross Ford Tends to fade in later part of the match but his lineout work is as good as at any time in his career. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 3-Euan Murray Equalled Allan Jacobsen’s caps record for a Scottish prop (65). The former Lion still has plenty to offer, in the set piece at least. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 4-Jim Hamilton Brought in by Vern Cotter for his physicality and strength in the maul and he didn’t let his coach down. Is a more disciplined player these days. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 5-Jonny Gray Scotland’s captain-in-waiting according to some. A menace in the lineout and shows maturity beyond his years – he was 21. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 6-Robert Harley Possibly shaded the battle of the blind-sides. Likes to annoy opponents and generally succeeds. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 7-Blair Cowan Earning an unwanted reputation for conceding penalties, but he remains a key cog in this side. One of the best turnover merchants around. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 8-David Denton Gave Scotland a good ball-carrying outlet and more bulk in the tight exchanges. Decent performance before giving way to Beattie. 6 Getty Images

England now face a football nation whose joined up approach between the age groups the FA has directly copied, having concluded that the lack of communication between the England manager and leader of younger age groups in the recent past was folly.

Southgate feels that his England side has displayed a distinct way of playing since he began work with them last month. It is more akin to the Spanish method, though he admitted that there is a technical deficit between the two nations – despite the mere two places which divided them in the Fifa world rankings. (Spain have slipped to tenth after a disappointing World Cup.)

“There are signs of how we would like to play,” Southgate said. “We have certain attributes in the team that lend themselves to playing in a certain style. In the top two thirds of the pitch we did that really well [against Scotland].” But he wants more circumspection when it comes to playing out from the back, especially from Manchester City’s John Stones. “I think it is decision-making and positioning sometimes: recognition on when to really commit to it and when to play past the first press.”