‘I DESERVED TO BE ON THE PLANE,’ RUES BERTRAND

RYAN BERTRAND was enjoying the second evening of an end-of-season family holiday in Abu Dhabi when the phone call from Gareth Southgate came. The Southampton defender has become part of the England furniture in recent years. He was in the squad at Euro 2016 and started six consecutive games under Southgate last year, yet here came the shattering news that he would not be on the plane to Russia. Instead, the England manager explained, Ashley Young, Danny Rose and Fabian Delph would vie for the left wing-back berth. ‘It was a short getaway to be back in time for England,’ Bertrand (right) says. ‘Then the phone rang...it was more shock, silence and reflection. The chat wasn’t too long. He [Southgate] broke the news, there were some awkward silences and then it was over. I didn’t try to convince him he is wrong. That was pointless, it was done, the decision was made. ‘It was nice that he had the respect to call me. I never presume but I was pretty confident I would be on the plane. I had been heavily involved, so it was a surprise. There were no hints during previous meetups that I had to change — or that I would be left out.’ The next morning brought a more emotional conversation with his mother Debbie. ‘That was hard,’ he admits. ‘She was upset. She was the one always there on the touchline with me as a kid. On those cold Sunday mornings and wet Tuesday nights when I was at Gillingham, we dreamed about World Cups. ‘The whole thing has put me into a state of reflection, questioning ifs, buts and maybes. Should I have done this or that? I analysed my season. I was in a relegation battle, not ideal. ‘But on individual comparisons, I deserve to be on the plane. I assessed my game time and contributions against my rivals and I was very competitive, if not leading in the statistics. I did not really understand the logic. With the numbers, it did not really add up. ‘I played wing-back in a five at the end of the season, which is how England play. I also played in a central three for Southampton with Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte, and we went on Southampton’s record clean sheet run. ‘I played left midfield in a Champions League final for Chelsea. ‘It is perhaps an oversight in the manager’s analysis and I find that hard to take.’ADAM CRAFTON