Three Lions chief admits there were two ways to go after the World Cup miracle.. and he is challenging his young stars to pick the right one
with every player who is playing, how they are progressing and where they might fit in with what we are doing. We track them all. They are all pushing.
“So whenever we bring a new player in, that player is excited by it, but the others also want to prove themselves.
“They know there is competition and with the last four players to be called up, everybody has played well.
“That is a lot of credit to everybody in the camp because they make that settling-in period a comfortable one. If you speak to Callum Wilson, Jadon Sancho or the others that have just come into this camp or the last one, they feel comfortable.
“That can be an ordeal and then you can’t go out and play. That atmosphere is very important.” GARETH SOUTHGATE promised himself the World Cup was just the start of England’s journey rather than the end of the road.
The danger was that reaching the semi-finals in Russia could be seen as the peak for Southgate and his squad and they would struggle to reach those heights again.
But the Three Lions chief was always determined to build on last summer and make sure it laid the foundations for long-term success, especially with more young players coming through the system.
“There’s two routes you can take once you’ve had a summer like that,” he said. “September was difficult for everybody, I know Croatia found that.
“We found that difficult because you’re on the back of such a high.
“For everybody to start again and find the energy and the motivation at that time – we weren’t sure what this tournament was going to be. The game against Switzerland was important. It was not the first 11, but players who needed to play. And they got us a win, that lifted us. The performances in the last two months have been really top.
“We believe in what comes through the system, I think everybody can see what’s happening at youth level. To build on a semi-final in the summer and have those players coming through is a really good place to be in.”
Southgate has also laid down the challenge to his players to carry on building rather than rest on their laurels by thinking they have made it.
“In life, you can never say you’ve made it because that’s the day you stop progressing and improving,” he added.
“We’ve put a consistent year together really and we’ve leapt up those rankings and started to beat some of those top teams and that’s where we’ve got to be. We want to be in these games that matter. “The more of these games that you’re in, the more chance you’ve got to get over the line in them and to test yourself against the very best players.
“All of that team, all of our team, test themselves all year and have shown themselves what is possible. And so they are starting to believe a bit more.”
It is a belief that registers with all the players and Eric Dier (left) admits the comeback at Wembley against Croatia came as no surprise to this current group of players who feel they are part of something special. He said: “We have all the attributes be a really good side. “We are confident in ourselves and in what the manager is implementing,” said the Tottenham midfielder.
“I remember in Scotland a couple of years ago when the manager had just arrived and we went behind and managed to claw ourselves back.
“Harry scored right at the end and it is so important to remember in these situations that when we do go behind, the top teams don’t panic.
“They stick to their plan and stick to the culture in the team. I think we did that.
“The atmosphere on Sunday was the best I have had playing for the national team at Wembley by far. After the World Cup that is the kind of atmosphere we deserve there.
“It was a fantastic feeling between us and the fans and hopefully we can continue to build on that. Hopefully we can continue to play football that gets them off their seats.
“It works both ways, we need to give and they need to give and hopefully we can continue to build a special relationship.”