He freely admits he has revelled in the journey.
But he is less certain if he will always enjoy the view, or the experience of life at the top.
"I am up for the challenge," he said. "Of course I am or I would not have taken the job even if I know I am not always going to be happy at the level of scrutiny of all my decisions.
"But I am a football man and football has been my life," he added, talking openly to reporters in a stone dining room at the ancient Hotel Pod Roza, the oldest in Krakow.
"I have had 36 years of it, at varying levels, and now I am here at the pinnacle. It is the top job in England and I think I know what it is all about.
"But only a naive person would think that it is all going to be plain sailing."
"The pinnacle? Yes, absolutely, it is the pinnacle for me," he said. "I am very excited about this and have been from the day when the chairman called me about the job.
"I had a harrowing two weeks, a difficult time, when I was still head coach at West Bromwich Albion and trying to plan ahead for England, but I have enjoyed every minute."
The Croydon-born coach conceded he was inclined to be conservative, but preferred to describe his approach as "pragmatic", someone happy to win 1-0 with a sound defence rather than take risks with a more cavalier approach.
"The most painful blow for me would be if they let me, the team and the nation down," he summed up, after riding a series of questions on his squad selection, the absence of defender Rio Ferdinand, the positive mood of his men and a France team, managed by Laurent Blanc, that is unbeaten in 21 outings.
Reiterating that he omitted Ferdinand for "football reasons", he said the controversy it created in the English media was just that - a media creation, not one of his making.
"I don't know how these debates get started in the mass media," he said. "I am not a journalist. I had to make a decision and I did it."
"It was a tough call," he revealed. "I called Rio and we had a private conversation. I wouldn't dream of telling you what he said or what I said.
"It's my job to make decisions and I have to do that and know I feel right myself about them."
