Boss won’t let gambling be an issue

ENGLAND’S players will not jeopardise their chances of success this summer by recreating the card schools that marred previous tournaments.

Kieron Dyer’s remarkable revelations in his autobiography, which was serialised by

Sportsmail last month, struck a chord with manager Gareth Southgate, who was a player at the 2002 World Cup when huge sums regularly exchanged hands.

Southgate, though, believes this is a more responsible generation and is not concerned about his players becoming distracted.

He will not ban card schools or tell his group to stay off social media while they are in Russia.

He said: ‘ Hopefully now players are a bit different. We have the odd card school but I don’t sense it is more serious.

‘Could I say we don’t have players with gambling issues? That is impossible to monitor because of online gambling and things like that. I have to be realistic.

‘I would be amazed if there has ever been a sports team that haven’t had someone who likes to gamble.

‘We need to have the right support if people need help because of the individual impact and the impact it can have on the team.’

Southgate added: ‘There are some brilliant things about social media and there are some brilliant things about the internet, but there are some I have concerns about as a parent and as someone who looks after young players.’