SOUTHGATE CUTS HIS FRINGE
England boss warns those facing the axe
GARETH SOUTHGATE has already started warning some of his fringe players they are set to miss the Euros.
In a series of honest face-to-face conversations, the England boss spent this week spelling out who’s likely to make the finals – and who isn’t.
He will carry on delivering some “difficult messages” over the next few weeks before he names his final 23-man squad next month.
Trent Alexander-arnold, Eric Dier, Tyrone Mings and the injured Jordan Henderson are among the biggest names sweating on their places. Southgate said: “I’ve spoken to quite a few already this week and I will do over the next couple of weeks, so that they know exactly where they sit.
“I think that’s helpful. You’ve got to manage expectations and have some reality about what they might need to do between now and the end of the season.
“That, of course, is a difficult message, very difficult, and nobody looks forward to that.
“But it’s worse for those receiving it than it is for those giving it, so
you’ve got to have that empathy with how the players are feeling.”
Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Poland at Wembley was a last chance to impress, with Southgate having to name his Euros squad before the deadline of 11pm on June 1.
The Three Lions boss can then make additions to the squad up until 24 hours before the opening game against Croatia on June 13 – but only to replace any late injury victims.
England play friendlies against Austria and Romania at the start of June before opening their finals campaign against the Croats.
Southgate only took five forwards with him to the last World Cup in a squad which featured nine defenders, but he suggested it could be very different this time.
He said: “Heading into Russia, we were very clear we were going to be 3-5-2 and we were going to pick the players to fit that system.
“We’re a bit more fluid and adaptable now.
“We have lots more exciting young players and w■eb’vyesgtoatrtorefipnodratweray of getting them into the squad.”
This time around he expects to only take a maximum of eight defenders.
Planning work has already been done and the lesson of winning under pressure after nearly letting it slip against Poland is perfect preparation for a tournament.
Southgate added: “We are well down the line with a lot of that planning, but of course everything is constantly changing with the Covid protocol and what we might be allowed to do. So it’s a massive operation ahead of a major tournament.
“At the moment we’re happy with what we’ve got. We just know that we’re going to have to adapt to changes of rules and everything else over the coming weeks.”
With all of England’s young internationals exceeding expectations, Southgate faces some agonising choices and has vowed to monitor form right up until the end of the season.
“We have got to be fully up to speed with where they are physically and what their form is,” he said.