TAKE POLE POSITION
Gareth revs up Lions for their big Euros audition and demands they act ’savvy’ to be a top team
GARETH SOUTHGATE has told his England players they will have to be more “savvy” if they want to become a top team.
Southgate revealed he called a players’ meeting and held up France and Portugal as experienced serial winners because of their game management.
Three Lions boss Southgate was unhappy with elements of Sunday’s win over Albania and says his young squad need to be more streetwise as they face Poland at Wembley tonight.
Southgate said: “I just
think when I’ve watched the French and Portuguese, teams that have won,
they are savvy and experienced winners. And that’s something we have to add to this group. There’s a lot of young players in this group, they haven’t won things at their club – we’ve got to help them learn how to win big matches.
“That’s part of our responsibility as well as the experiences they will get at their clubs. But we mustn’t miss those opportunities. If we came off the other night and patted everyone on the back and said, ‘we had 70 per cent of the ball, that’s good and scored our two goals.’
“That’s fine but it’s not going to be enough and we have to constantly strive for more.”
Southgate faces Poland in what is a huge chance for England to enjoy a third straight win, take a huge step towards next summer’s World Cup finals and it is also the last competitive fixture before he names the squad for the Euros this summer.
But Southgate warned England must stay focused on the World Cup qualifiers, not worry about the Euros even if he admitted some places are up for grabs.
Southgate said: “We’re not thinking of the summer at the moment, we are thinking about this match. We can go five points clear in the group. I know at the back of everyone’s mind there is a European Championship but we’ve got World Cup qualifiers and it is crucial that we qualify.
“If we are not taking charge of the group all the talk of potential and what this young group of players might be, they won’t get the opportunity to play at a major finals.
“We have to make sure we get that right.”