So when England open their World Cup against Croatia on Wednesday evening, Kirkland is not looking for a manifesto performance from Thomas Tuchel's side - at least not yet. Tournament openers are often there to be survived, controlled, and, ideally, won without the whole nation requiring a group therapy session at full-time.
"For me, the first game is all about the result," Kirkland exclusively tells Flashscore. "If you said England would win the World Cup, but it wouldn't be the most pleasing on the eye, you take it.
"If you said they'd play brilliant, entertaining football but not win it, I wouldn't prefer that. You want to lift the World Cup."
That is not a call for the Three Lions to retreat into themselves, nor an acceptance of joyless football. It is simply the first rule of tournaments, one England have regularly learned the hard way: the opening game is a potential trapdoor. Avoid falling through it, and everything else should become easier.
Croatia will be 'hell of a test'
Croatia, naturally, are an awkward place to start. They are not the force of 2018, but they remain technically secure, tactically irritating and experienced enough to make England work for long stretches without offering many clean moments of control. They are still ranked 11th in the world by FIFA.
"It's going to be a hell of a test," Kirkland says. "Would you like a slightly easier game? Of course you would. But Croatia always have technically very good players. They're comfortable on the ball, they keep it, they move it, and they have players who can score.
"It's vital England get off to a good start. If you lose your first game, you're up against it straight away."
The obvious conversation around England remains the attacking one. Harry Kane's goals, Bukayo Saka's fitness, Jude Bellingham's role, Morgan Rogers' form, and Anthony Gordon's directness.
Midfield is the key
But for Kirkland, the crux of England's World Cup will be Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson.
Not the headline pair, perhaps. But against Croatia, and then against the very top sides if England get there, they may be the difference between a team with exciting forwards and a team with a proper tournament structure.
"I think Anderson and Rice are massive," Kirkland says. "They've got to protect the back four. One of them has got to protect. Anderson has been outstanding, and Rice is so important.
"Goals win you tournaments, yes, but defensively, those two have massive roles to play.
"They're going to have to do a lot of work, and it's going to be difficult for them. If they're on fire and playing well, England have a real chance."
That point matters because England's strongest argument at this World Cup is also their greatest temptation. Tuchel's side has enough attacking quality to believe the solution is simply to try and score more.
Vulnerable at the back?
But tournament winners are rarely built by squeezing one more luxury player into the XI and hoping the defensive shape forgives you. Kirkland's view is clear: England have the forwards to hurt anyone, but their chances depend on whether they can stay intact behind them.
"To win tournaments, defensively you have to be the best," he says. "Whether it's the Premier League, FA Cup or Champions League, usually the best defensive team goes on to win. England have to be solid. They have to keep clean sheets.
"You need Harry Kane to fire, and you need the players behind him to contribute too. You can't just rely on Harry, even though he is a freak of nature with the goals he scores."
Kirkland's concern, unsurprisingly for a former goalkeeper, is England's defensive unit. He likes the options, but fitness and continuity are the issue. Reece James has to stay available. John Stones, if selected, needs rhythm. Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa may have to grow into the tournament quickly. Jordan Pickford, as ever, has to be the adult in the room, even when he looks angry enough to set fire to the whole house.
"You hope Reece James stays fit," Kirkland says. "You hope Pickford stays fit. We've got outstanding keepers, but Pickford has been brilliant for England.
"Then you look at the centre-backs. If John Stones plays, you hope he stays fit. Guehi as well, Konsa if he plays. You don't want to be changing that defensive unit through the tournament if you can help it."
Kirkland would also have taken Trent Alexander-Arnold.
"I watched Trent at Liverpool for many years," he says. "People label him defensively, but the quality he brings on the ball is huge. His passing range, his set-pieces - that's what Liverpool missed last season. I would have taken him 100 per cent. A million per cent.
"Maguire is another one. He probably isn't starting, but he scores goals, and you can bring him on for set-pieces. Luke Shaw as well - I would have taken him. He always plays well for England."
Tuchel 'the right man for the job'
That is where Tuchel's first tournament becomes interesting. Southgate's England were often accused of caution, sometimes fairly. Tuchel has arrived with a different reputation: sharper edges, bigger calls, less sentiment.
Kirkland sees him as the right fit for a squad that no longer needs convincing that it belongs near the end of tournaments - it needs to be dragged over the line.
"I think he's the right man," Kirkland says. "Gareth was someone who had played the game, had been around England squads, and as a player you want to be treated right. Tuchel, I think, is a little bit more ruthless. He's not afraid to make big calls.
"Gareth wasn't afraid either, but Tuchel seems very single-minded about what is best for the team and the squad, and how to get over the line and win a major trophy.
"But with England managers, it always comes down to results. Tuchel will be judged on what England do."
Consistent Pickford
Kirkland is also a firm believer in Everton's Jordan Pickford, having worked with him at Preston in 2015/16.
"He was outstanding," Kirkland says. "In training, in games - without him, Preston would have been rock bottom.
"He's done it at Sunderland. He's been brilliant for Everton for eight or nine years. He gets stick, and I understand why at times, because he can be animated. He gets involved with the crowd, he berates his defenders, and that rubs people up the wrong way.
"But for England, I can't remember too many bad games. In tournaments, he's probably been our most consistent player over the last three."
Pickford, in that sense, is a useful symbol of this England side. Not always elegant, not universally loved, but hardened by tournament experience and generally there when the noise starts. Kirkland believes he remains underrated on the world stage.
"My advice to him would be simple: do what you've done for the last 10 years," he adds.
"Remember where you've come from. Remember the loans, Bradford, Preston, the other clubs. Remember what it took to get where you are."
Rogers versus Bellingham
The biggest call for Croatia may be in the No 10 area. Kirkland would start Rogers ahead of Bellingham if it comes down to one or the other.
"I'd go with Rogers," he says. "He's had a brilliant season for Villa, and I think you've got to pick players on form.
"For me, Rogers' form is better than Bellingham's. Bellingham has had his issues; he's had injuries. I'm not so sure how he finished the season at Madrid - I don't remember too many outstanding highlights."
So who does he think should be starting in the opener in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday?
"My team is Pickford, Guehi, Konsa, James, Rice, and Anderson," he begins.
Further forward, he unsurprisingly wants Gordon, Rogers, and Kane involved, but the final shape depends on Saka's fitness and how Tuchel balances Rogers and Bellingham.
"I would go Gordon, Rogers, Kane," Kirkland says. "You could put Rogers on the right. Saka's been good, but he's not had a great end to the season, and I think he's carrying a knock as well.
"He might go Gordon on one side, Rogers on the other, and play Bellingham in behind Kane. I would probably go with that team to start with. But if it's only one out of Rogers and Bellingham, I'll go with Rogers."
It's an XI (and squad) that feels like the Tuchel era in a nutshell: form over reputation, structure over indulgence, results over romance. Very un-English, some might say. Which, given the history of English tournament football, may not be the worst idea anyone has ever had.
But Croatia come first, and Croatia will ask the right sort of questions: Can England control spaces without becoming passive? Can Rice and Anderson give the back four protection without leaving Kane isolated? Can Tuchel's ruthless streak produce clarity rather than churn? And can England win a game against a good side in a way that may not flatter them?
