Football Association (FA) chief executive Martin Glenn says manager Roy Hodgson would expect to lose his job if England failed to perform at Euro 2016.
Hodgson's contract is due to expire after Euro 2016, which England are on track to qualify for with six wins from as many matches in Group E.
The 68-year-old has already expressed his desire to continue in the role beyond next year's major tournament amid debate over whether he will be offered a contract extension.
The writing is on the wall, however, with failure at the Euros only meaning one thing, according to Glenn.
"I spoke to him about it, the position I thought was clear anyway, so yes the air has been cleared," Glenn said.
"Roy is a really good manager... If - and I don't think it will happen - we had a bad Euros, he would not expect to be kept on. He is a proud man.
"The question for Roy is, how do we set him up to be as successful as we can in the Euros? What can we do? That is what we plan to do."
England have four Euro 2016 qualifiers remaining, against San Marino (September 5), Switzerland (September 8), Estonia (October 9) and Lithuania (October 12).
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