SOUTHGATE HAILS VENABLES EFFECT

GARETH SOUTHGATE has hailed the influence of former England manager Terry Venables on his management career.

Sportsmail columnist Venables gave Southgate his international debut in the mid-1990s and the pair have developed a close bond over the years. ‘As a player, you play for coaches who help you develop as a person and a player,’ said Southgate. ‘He (Venables) challenged us tactically. With international players, you’re dealing with top players so they want to keep learning. He created an environment that was fun to be in. one of his sayings was “this is not a rehearsal”. ‘This wasn’t a rehearsal for us. You might only get one crack at a World Cup, so we wanted to give it as good a go as we could, and generate memories. ‘You learn from all your coaches, from watching their teams play, watching them, from discussions. ‘Any coach wants to keep finding new ways to help their players and teams. But you have to be your own person as well, marry things to your beliefs and values.’