Advertisement

Gareth Southgate: off-field distractions cost England place in Nations League finals

Gareth Southgate has told his England players they need to be 'good ambassadors'  - SHUTTERSTOCK 
Gareth Southgate has told his England players they need to be 'good ambassadors' - SHUTTERSTOCK

Gareth Southgate has claimed that off-field incidents helped cost England a place in the finals of the Nations League – and reminded his squad that he is always monitoring their behaviour and “how players look after themselves” and the need to be “good ambassadors”, even though there is not another international fixture until March.

In that month England will play three World Cup qualifiers, following the draw for the groups to ­provide Europe’s 13 places in the tournament in Qatar in 2022. England have been drawn alongside Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra and San Marino in Group I.

The fixtures will also provide crucial preparation for the delayed Euro 2020 finals next summer and the England manager again informed his players of their “responsibilities” after recent ­meet-ups were blighted by a series of controversies.

Asked about another off-field episode, with Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley due to be reminded of their responsibilities by Aston Villa after allegedly breaking social-distancing rules in a London restaurant, Southgate said: “The details of some of those stories I am not clear on, but the fact you are asking me the question is because when you are an England player there is another level of profile that comes with that.

“When you go into the next camps in March, go into the tournament, you want as little noise as ­possible around the team. The fact is that the distractions off the pitch and some of our discipline on the pitch were quite costly for us in terms of qualifying for the Nations League. We hindered ourselves.

Jack Grealish  - GETTY IMAGES
Jack Grealish - GETTY IMAGES

“We want the public to connect with the team, we want the country to feel excited by the team, but also proud of the team and that they’re good ambassadors for everything we’re trying to do. So, of course, we look at reliability at being part of the criteria, on-field decision-making, often that can be reflected in some off-field decision-making.

“I’m not going to say this is the line, and anybody who crosses it, we don’t consider, because there are so many nuances to having to deal with different issues, but we’re always observing, we’re always observing how players look after themselves, how professional they are, how will they be if they’re away with us for 35-40 days next summer, all of these things have to come into our thinking when you’re taking a squad away.”

Southgate praised the way Manchester United are handling Mason Greenwood after the 19-year-old striker was sent home in disgrace after breaching Covid guidelines on England duty in Iceland in September and has been left out of subsequent squads. Greenwood has had his difficulties at United, but scored at outstanding goal in the weekend win over West Ham United.

“That was what we saw at the end of last season which is why we called him into the squad,” Southgate said, adding: “At a club like Manchester United every game is important so you are always having to perform under pressure and with high expectations, which is great for their young players because they already have to deal with everything you have to deal with with England.”

One of the interesting match-ups in World Cup qualification will be between Poland’s “huge talisman” Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane, with Southgate claiming the fact that Tottenham Hotspur appear to be title challengers will raise his captain’s game even further.

“I think the top players win trophies,” Southgate said. “Normally, that is how they go to the next echelon of how they are perceived and what their legacy is. In the end you can have some great individual accolades, but to win with the team takes your game and your standing within the game to another level.”

Southgate added that he hoped England would benefit from so many teams being in contention in the Premier League this season.

“When you look at teams that historically win international tournaments, they’ve got lots of players who have won European trophies or league titles,” he said.

Southgate, who has been a strong advocate of five substitutes being introduced in such a “compact season”, backed plans for the measure to be used in the FA Cup. “They are the bits that as an FA we can control,” he said.