Lions must play without fear

GARETH SOUTHGATE gets a lot of unfair stick as England boss.

Because he speaks with erudition and clarity, and is not chucking cups all over the place, people say he doesn’t care, that he’s a patsy.

I played with him twice. He was my captain at Aston Villa, and I also grew up with him at Crystal Palace in the reserves. Gareth (right) is very passionate about his country, but wants to channel that passion.

Instead of tubthumping, ‘Here we go, here we go’, and then falling flat on their faces, he wants to beat teams his own way.

That’s why he is trying to play a proactive, attractive style of football. I’ll be at every game and, if the Three Lions lose every game but play well, I wouldn’t mind because there is no realistic expectation in this tournament.

Of course, we want to win, but I don’t think there is any expectation of winning the World Cup.

What I don’t want to see against Panama and Tunisia is us either taking them too lightly, or being afraid to go and express ourselves. I want us to play without fear.