Jones: You must get over fear of failure

EDDIE JONES says England’s footballers need to lose their “fear of failure” if they are to have any chance of winning a major tournament. Jones (left), who has revived England’s rugby fortunes with his uncompromising style, says Gareth Southgate must bring about a mindset change among his players.

“In England, there’s definitely a fear of failure, of not doing what everyone else is doing,” said Jones.

“Players like to get comfortable, have a nice house, drive a Range Rover, do the same thing every day in training. To get them to have the courage to try to be different is the biggest trick – don’t be comfortable, be uncomfortable.”

Southgate and Jones are still in touch after the Lions boss invited the Aussie to address his England squad last March before they played Lithuania. Speaking at the current Soccerex global convention in Manchester, Jones said: “It’s interesting to me, as an Australian, listening to the English talk about football. It’s almost like everyone is saying, ‘We’re gonna fail, it doesn’t matter if we qualify, we’re gonna fail, so who really cares?’

“The players hear that and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. They’ve got to try to break that in some way, to get other messages out there and change it.

“You’ve got to aspire to make the quarter-finals because, if you say you’re only going to win two games, you’re going to lose two games.

“So the way you say things is just so important to get the right mindset and the right mental attitude.”