GARETH’S QUICK PICK
England boss: ‘Players won’t be hanging on’
GARETH SOUTHGATE says he won’t leave his England stars hanging when he names his World Cup squad.
The England boss plans to announce his final 23-man squad for Russia before England’s next warm-up game against Nigeria at Wembley on June 2, even though the deadline isn’t until two days later.
Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jamie Vardy will all be on the plane to Russia. But Southgate has vowed to put his fringe players out of their misery as soon as possible.
And he has no intention of messing about by announcing a bigger squad and cutting it down to size like previous managers have done.
He said: “I’d like to name my squad before the next game because you end up being able to run a performance camp, rather than a selection camp.
“There’s a difference in the feel for everybody. If you name 28, they aren’t sure, but if you name 23 and
five on standby, then everyone knows where they sit. Those on standby have a chance, but they come into the camp knowing their role.
“If you have 28 or 30 who think they might have a chance, then there’s a lot of uncertainty and anxiety during the games. For me it’s much better to have the 23 secured and go from there.”
Southgate is desperate to avoid the drama of previous tournaments when some of those who missed out went into meltdown.
The former defender witnessed Paul Gascoigne’s infamous clash with Glenn Hoddle when the midfielder was axed from the squad just a few days before France ’98.
“I was there,” said Southgate. “I was one of the next in. Mine didn’t take too long after that. It’s about managing expectations.
Surprise
“There are some that have worked with us for quite a while and know the reality is they will be part of the squad.
“There are others that know after the conversations I’ve had with them that they are just on the edge of it.
“That’s important because it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to anybody. I’ve got to keep those conversations going, letting people know how I see it, so in the end it doesn’t come as dramatically to people.
“As a manager you have to have difficult conversations, but it’s about delivering them as respectfully as possible. It’s never enjoyable.
“For any player it’s a huge disappointment. I guess it depends on how much they have been involved with us. Some of the guys are coming in for their first couple of games, so for them the scenario is different.”