MIDWAY through the Poland v Slovakia match I found myself explaining what a ‘low block’ meant to my youngest son, whose curiosity has mercifully been piqued by Euro 2020.

The Poles had just been reduced to 10 men and the excellent Emma Hayes was describing how they could protect a point by sitting in front of their penalty box and defending space, an explanation so detailed it made me wish I had scribbled it down to use in a future match report.

The Chelsea boss has just taken her club to the Women’s Super League and – to the majority of terrestrial TV watchers – will be a new presence on our screens this summer.

What we have seen from her so far, however, makes me think she will be a regular pundit and/or co-commentator for some time to come.

I had extoled the virtues of Clive Tyldesley and Ally McCoist a night earlier, a double act that could have made even the second half of Spain v Sweden seem bearable.

There is more than one way to crack an egg, though, and again you have to give credit to ITV for bringing a very different type of character to the commentary box.

McCoist was a delight, bouncing quips off the experienced Tyldesley in a game which would have been great to watch on mute – but Hayes, who was alongside Sam Matterface, took a far more studious approach in what proved to be a slow burning affair.

With Robert Lewandowski unable to get into the game and Poland stuttering from the start, there was ample time to discuss the tactical nuances, in what proved to be a learning experience for father and son.

Hayes’ only fail on the day, in fact, was the inability to come up with a suitable ‘bon mot’ when it was revealed one of the players’ wives hosted the Slovakian version of Strictly. Forgivable, I am sure you will agree.

That she did convey such a rich understanding of the ebb and flow of the game does raise the question as to whether more managers should be taken out of the studio and put into the press box, alongside the main commentator.

All ex-players, to a greater or lesser degree, will have tactical acumen – but we do not often hear much detailed explanation as to why something is happening out on the pitch until pundits are able to bring out the graphics and replays at half time.

Having the know-how, or sometimes having done the depth of research, to explain why something is happening in real time is not an easy thing to pull off at all.

Striking that happy medium between charisma and detail is the key, and why I stand by my statement that Tyldesley and McCoist are the best pairing I have heard at the Euros so far.

Hayes, and others, are certainly making a case for themselves in this tournament, however, and I can see a time in the very near future that some of the stale old guard and moved on.

I have thankfully been able to watch every second of the Euros thus far, mainly because we now have enough TVs in the house to dismiss the non-believers into another room, and secondly because – for the first time – my son is taking an active interest.

Normally, I have to spend hundreds of pounds on Pannini stickers in the lead-up to a tournament to make my kids take a passing interest in the football, an act which is pretty much 100 per cent enablement. But this year, a free wallchart and a Fantasy League football team did the trick.

If the price for watching three games, non-stop, on a Monday is spending five minutes in each half discussing some football phrases he hasn’t understood, then so be it.

Carry on Emma, we are all learning something here, chiefly that ITV are no longer miles behind the Beeb when it comes to big tournament coverage.