Gareth Southgate: from a tense style icon to an experienced, relaxed manager

The manager has been at the helm of the English national team for eight years. Southgate is now an experienced manager and, like the entire football world, has undergone significant development during this time. ”When I started with the seniors, I was still a fairly inexperienced manager. Now, eight years on, I’ve managed some of the biggest games in world football. Plus the tactical element of the game has evolved in England over that period. You’re aware the type of young people coming through is different to the generation of players who are retiring. There is a generation gap between the guys who were 34 and the ones who are 17, 18 now – how they learn, what type of meetings they’re used to, phones, how they receive information.” And that is not the only thing that has changed… ”When we were growing up, we were bullied, really. Maybe that’s too harsh, but the coaches were very critical. That gave me a real toughness that has helped in my life, but there’s a flip side to that, where you don’t feel the freedom to play. As soon as you made a mistake, boom, it was highlighted. Whereas now we highlight the things that go wrong more when we win than when we lose. And when we lose, you’d be picking out the positives a little bit more.”