Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Stones learning from two bosses
JOHN Stones believes England manager Gareth Southgate has similar qualities to Pep Guardiola and sees the pair as perfect mentors for club and country.
On the face of it, the duo have little i n common beyond their age — both men are 46 — and their overlapping playing careers.
While Manchester City boss Guardiola boasts a trophy-laden coaching CV from his time at European giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Southgate was relegated with Middlesbrough in his only club job before honing his craft with England U/21s.
But Stones, having worked at length with both, sees plenty of shared skills.
“I don’t think they’re too different — both want to play football, both have great football brains and knowledge about the game,” said the Three Lions defender ahead of E n g l a n d ’s friendly in Germany tomorrow.
“I think the fundamentals of what they want to get across come over really well and t hat makes it easier for us as players.
“(Guardiola) only speaks in team meetings or if he wants to tell you something individually.
“I think that’s a great quality as a manager, giving you little bits here and not flooding you with too many things.
“And when I was with the U/21s we had a great group, Southgate was not bombarding you with too much info.
“It was picking up little pointers during training or during games.”
Guardiola offered a colourful testimony t o Stones’ skills following Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, praising his “balls” and professing his love f or t he defender’s style.
The Spaniard also claimed his demands were hard on his side’s defenders but Stones is enthused by the opportunity to share a training pitch with the City boss.
“I wouldn’t say i t ’s difficult, I see it as exciting and a massive l earning curve for me,” he said.
“But it’s great to hear that from your manager. It shows the faith he’s got in me.”