Gareth Southgate wants to be challenged by his England players

The new permanent manager wants his players to have strong opinions and believes listening to them is an essential part of his job

As someone who played in the last England side to come close to winning a tournament Gareth Southgate is well placed to discuss what it might take to foster a sense of togetherness within the squad that he will take to the World Cup in Russia. Of all the accusations aimed at England over the years the players’ apparent lack of enjoyment from international football seems easier to remedy than their tactical or technical failings.

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Southgate was a member of a national side with a solid team spirit and it is worth exploring whether England’s new manager can put his experience at Euro 96 to good use, even if some things are best left in the past.

The dust is still settling after the fallout from Wayne Rooney’s late-night piano session last month and Southgate, joking that drawing inspiration from England’s most successful tournament since Italia 90 cannot involve his players being caught clubbing, is not about to recommend his players bond over a pint or 10. Practices that were acceptable 20 years ago will not be tolerated now. “The world is different and we’ve got to find alternatives,” Southgate said. “We can’t all be in China Jumpers at 3am.”

All the same there are ways for Southgate to ensure his players are mentally robust. When he thinks back to his playing career, he recalls a harsh, unforgiving time during his early days at Crystal Palace. “Every day there was normally a punch-up on the training pitch; there was normally a tear-up in the dressing room after most games,” he said. “It was a real dog-eat-dog environment but also a very tight team. Our football could have been better, I’d have to say. We had qualities that made us a good team but to be a great team you need a bit more on top. For me, in terms of growing up, that’s one of the experiences that hardened me.”

Southgate was not calling for physical violence. Given that he was sitting next to Martin Glenn, the Football Association’s chief executive, that would have sent out the wrong kind of message. The point he was making is that team spirit is not simply about being nice to each other. “Some things never change about how people get on and how you bond as a group,” he said. “It can’t just be about everybody getting on well, there have to be some challenges within that. It can’t just be everybody’s best mates, isn’t it a happy environment?

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“If things had to be said in that dressing room, they were said, that’s for certain. Again they were said as much by the players as they were by the coaching staff, probably more. That is what you want to encourage. You want to encourage players to have an opinion in the dressing room.”

There was a recognition that people, not just footballers, have changed in the past 20 years. Southgate wants to take them out of their comfort zone but he does not want to be a dictator. The input of his players will be welcomed. He wants them to think for themselves. “Young people today, the way the school system is, it’s different from the way we were brought up,” he said. “If we were told to run up a hill eight times, we did it – and then we threw up. It helped us to get physically and mentally tougher, so I’m not necessarily saying it was a bad thing. But if you asked a player to do that today, they’d want to know why and what are the outcomes. Does it land on the right day of the week and everything else.

“But I have no problem if I’m challenged now as a coach. Why are we doing that? Will it make us better? If I can explain it, fine; now I think they’ll run 10 rather than the eight because they can see the benefit and you’ve explained it. If we can’t stand up for what we’re trying to deliver, maybe we need to think about whether we’re standing up for the right things.”