Gareth: I can be a hard guy

GARETH SOUTHGATE insists he is not too nice to be a successful England manager. Southgate admits that he was accused of being too much of a Mr Nice Guy when he was a young player – but has done his best to shake off the reputation. The England boss (above), in an interview with the Coaches’ Voice, said: “I was only ever accused of that by somebody I worked with, when I was a youth player. “And that was probably six or seven weeks into my apprenticeship and, you know, 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 after. “I’m as determined as anybody else to be successful and I suppose years of playing – and playing at a high level – and managing at a high level, would tell people there’s probably more than they know about me. “But I guess from the outside you never really know people unless you’re living with them or working with them.”