England vs Malta: John Stones says Gareth Southgate will not be afraid to blast his squad if they flop on Saturday
Manchester City defender has seen just how tough the new Three Lions boss can be after his time with the Under-21s
JOHN STONES insists there will be no more Mr Nice Guy from Gareth Southgate if he and his England team-mates fails to impress the stand-in Three Lions boss.
The Manchester City central defender has seen at first-hand playing under Southgate at Under-21 level that he can be tough when he has to be.
Even Roy Keane, the ultimate Mr Nasty, has suggested that Southgate must have a mean streak in him.
Stones, 22, has heard the stories that the ex-Middlesbrough boss might be a touch too soft for the job of replacing shamed Sam Allardyce.
But Southgate has been given the position for a four-game interim period - and £47.5million Stones believes he is made of the right stuff.
He said: "Being a defender, I think toughness is born into him.
“Every manager knows when to have the ruthless streak in telling the players what they need.
“Sometimes it is not what they want to hear and I have experienced that in the U21s.
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“I have been in situations in games where we weren’t playing well and doing what he wanted and he came in at half time and told us and we turned it round which is a great quality to have.”
But Stones also believes that the quieter qualities of soft-spoken Southgate can be important to the team too as they prepare for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier with Malta at Wembley.
Stones explained: “Gareth brings great calmness to the group.
“He is always talking to every player individually which is a good characteristic to have as a manager to spend a bit of time and give advice to individuals.
“Every manager speaks to a team as a collective but I think the lads really appreciate when he speaks one on one and gives advice on good and bad things.
“But mainly it is the winning streak in him.
“We all want to come here and win things and it didn’t happen in the summer.
“But it is a fresh start leading up to the World Cup and we have to take it game by game in the group.
“Two good wins can put us [in] a good spot.”
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