NOT ON MY WATCH

Neville warns England women he won’t stand for sloppy attitudes

PHIL NEVILLE was about to run back to England’s hotel when he had one last look at the pitch where his squad had trained. There, on the touchline, was a solitary water bottle.

It was Monday afternoon and England’s women had just completed their first session at Ohio State University with the manager but, after the balls and cones had been put away, they received a real insight into how life will be on Neville’s watch.

The smallest details mattered to him when he was a player and the smallest details are what the Lionesses are going to have to improve if they are to jump from third to first in the world rankings.

The water bottle offered Neville the chance to make his point.

‘I’m a stickler for standards,’ he said. ‘It was instilled in me from my parents to the managers I played for. The little things matter. Leaving the kit man to pick up a bottle of water is, for me, as big a crime as giving the ball away.

‘So we talked about the standards I want from them. You have to show humility to the staff and the people around you. I’ve tried to raise the bar in terms of every facet of performance. So far they have risen to every challenge I’ve set them. They’ve been fantastic.’

Neville stresses that last point. For all the acrimony that surrounded his appointment on January 23, there were no dissenting voices in the dressing room and they will look to give him the perfect start tonight in Columbus, when England face France in the opening game of the She Believes Cup.

‘He is very professional with the standards he has brought from Manchester United,’ said Lyon defender Lucy Bronze, who will captain England in the absence of Steph Houghton.

‘He was very firm and set down his rules straight away. He said, “If you don’t like it, tough”. But that’s what we need if we are going to win the World Cup next year and the girls have embraced it. Some of the younger players have been asking us what he was like as a player and whether he was any good.

‘Was he better than Gary (Neville) tends to be the question! He’s had a bit of banter about that. But he knows the pressure top players are under and we’ve not had that before from a manager.’

What Neville also knows is how he wants England to play. When Dan Ashworth, the FA’s technical director, and Baroness Sue Campbell approached him, they made it clear they wanted him to revamp

DOMINIC KING

England’s style and move away from Mark Sampson’s direct approach.

It won’t be a straightforward transition. There have been times over the last couple of days when England defenders have looked uncomfortable trying to play the ball out from the back. But Bronze believes they can learn by playing some of the world’s best teams at this tournament, which includes the United States and Germany.

‘The French killed everyone at the tournament last year,’ said Bronze. ‘But we will take bits from the best teams. We need to be better than them in their strongest areas. The World Cup will probably be easier.’

ENGLAND (probable, 4-3-3): Chamberlain; Bronze, Asante, George, Stokes; Christiansen, Walsh, Scott; Duggan, Taylor, White.