GARETH LEFT TO FIGHT FIRE AGAIN
Southgate plays the adult in room over latest controversy
THE extent to which Gareth Southgate has tried to limit the potential for problems before the start of a new European Championship qualifying campaign included staying in a hotel 200 metres from Wembley last night.
But controversy is often an unwelcome travelling companion of the England manager and Southgate yesterday found himself discussing the perils for teenagers of social media.
It should come as no surprise that Southgate dealt with the storm that erupted over some Twitter posts by a then 16-yearold Declan Rice as intelligently as he did. But he did not dismiss it as an issue, following the FA by stating that he too would have a word with the West Ham midfielder.
‘These stories have an uncanny habit of appearing and you don’t know how they’ve happened,’ Southgate said with a wry smile. ‘But I think from the first game that I took, there has been something every time. That is the nature England players have to get a team bus for the 200m trip from their hotel to Wembley Stadium because UEFA rules forbid teams arriving by foot! of the job, so you have to be adaptable, have to be resilient. There is no point in being uptight about these situations. You’ve just got to get on and deal with them in the best way you can.’
While the FA will remind Rice of his responsibilities, Southgate will perform the role of the responsible adult. Kids can be daft, he quite rightly stressed on more than one occasion, and Southgate will leave Rice in no doubt that he understands that.
Rice still has his support and Southgate hopes the majority of England fans who gather for tonight’s encounter with the Czech Republic also recognise the context of those posts and welcome a player who only last month confirmed he would be switching his allegiance from Ireland to England. The ‘no surrender’ brigade might respond differently but fortunately they remain a minority.
Chances are anyone minded to have a pop at Rice will have to wait until he goes for a run along the touchline or makes his England debut from the bench. He is not expected to start, with Southgate likely to begin with Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier at the base of his midfield.
Elsewhere on the field, however, there could be serious cause for excitement, with Jadon Sancho seemingly about to benefit from the injury that has forced Marcus Rashford to withdraw from the squad.
Southgate would not confirm that the precocious Borussia Dortmund forward would make his first competitive start, surprising his audience by stating that he would be quite prepared to select either Sancho or Chelsea’s Callum Hudson- Odoi. Never mind that the latter is yet to start a Premier League game. Having watched him in training these past few days, Southgate already considers him ready to play for England.
‘I can only say I wouldn’t hesitate to start either of them,’ Southgate said of Sancho and Hudson- Odoi. ‘Jadon’s profile is much higher because of his opportunity in Germany.
‘But in terms of the quality of the two players, right the way through their careers it’s been on a par, and Callum is just — well he’s got people like Eden Hazard ahead of him, and it’s a different landscape for him. But he’ll be absolutely fine, no doubt.’
When it comes to Hudson-Odoi, Southgate is not alone in being impressed. Jordan Pickford appeared to give the game away when he said Hudson- Odoi had settled straight into the team. ‘Although remember that’s Pickers you were talking to,’ joked Southgate afterwards.
But clearly training sessions that have been brightened by the recruitment of players such as Sancho, Hudson- Odoi and Rice are giving cause for optimism when looking ahead to a European Championship that will conclude with the final at Wembley.
‘I think regardless of where the tournament is played, we want to be consistently reaching the latter stages of competitions and knocking on the door,’ he said. ‘We’ve had a semi- final and there’s another semi-final this summer.
‘That’s a great benchmark for us, and with the quality of young players coming through, there is no reason we should allow those standards to drop, because there’s real competition for places. That, as much as anything, provides the motivation.’
The emergence of new talent, not least from the young England sides winning international tournaments, is a reason why Southgate wanted to remain with the team after the World Cup.
‘First and foremost, it’s just pride in doing the job,’ he said. ‘But, certainly, when you were looking at what the next few years could look like, and you knew that the team who had won the Under 20s World Cup and the team who had won the 17s and the 19s Euros, there were some really exciting players.
‘The balance has got to be right in terms of talent and experience but it’s hugely exciting, and there are others that we all know about. I was watching Morgan GibbsWhite with the Under 19s yesterday at St. George’s Park. I’m sure Phil Foden will play tonight. You can reel off any number of names that I think can give this squad more depth and more quality.’
Rice included.