I am prepared to push people

on England duty. Southgate will also use this gathering to impress upon his players the importance of discipline on the pitch this summer.

They include lectures on diving, their treatment of officials in Russia and the importance of not conceding too many fouls, particularly around their own area.

With the World Cup less than three months away, Southgate is keen to underline to his players that things are getting serious.

His no-nonsense stance comes as Southgate argued in an article in Coaches’ Voice magazine that the perception of him as Mr Nice Guy is an out-of-date one.

“I was only ever accused of that by somebody I worked with once, when I was a youth player,” he said. “And that was probably six or seven weeks into my apprenticeship and they were having to toughen me up and there were some home truths given. But no manager I played for ever accused me of it.

“Anybody that works with me knows that I want to win, and I’m prepared to challenge people. Does that mean I walk down the street and I’m rude to people and obnoxious to people? Well, I hope not.

“But does that mean I don’t want to win and does that mean I’m not prepared to fight for the company I work for, the club I work for or push people as far as possible and challenge people? Well, no.

“I’m as determined as anybody else to be successful. I suppose my years of playing – and playing at a high level although not winning quite what I wanted to win – and now managing at a high level would tell people that there’s probably more than they know about me.”

Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand has pulled out of the squad due to a back issue.