New England boss Gareth Southgate answers fans’ questions after landing top job including new pressing style and Adam Lallana’s role
The Three Lions chief also revealed how he will deal with the expectation of the biggest job in football
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GARETH SOUTHGATE celebrated landing the England manager's job on a permanent basis by answering questions from supporters.
The former interim and Three Lions Under-21 boss has penned a four-year deal worth £6.3million after the FA were persuaded to increase his salary by Southgate’s representatives.
And following his announcement, he was only too happy to sit down and discuss his plans with England fans.
He discussed his ambitions to develop a winning culture and mentality within the squad and how he hopes to implement a pressing style within the side.
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The 46-year-old also explained how his experiences with the Under-21s has helped him to prepare for the big one.
And he also chats about the possibility of his new employers buying him a new desk.
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Read below for the full transcript from .
What do you see being your main challenges over the next four years?
I think the main challenge over the next four years is to develop a winning culture and develop a strong mentality within the England team.
And to help a group of what is predominantly young players achieve their full potential.
Will you be introducing some new younger talent to the squad too add to the wealth of experience?
I think we already have a young squad actually, if you look at the likes of Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Marcus Rashford, they can all still play for the Under-21s.
Although we do have some experienced players, we don’t have a wealth of experience.
But definitely, there are some players in our U21s currently and younger age groups that we are hoping to progress into the senior team.
Do you have a particular style of play in mind for the Three Lions?
We have to create a winning team first and foremost. But anybody that has seen our U21s and junior teams play knows we want to dominate possession when possible.
To become a world class team that’s what we have to do against the very best.
I also think that we have players that are very good at pressing and want to press… So I think that’s the style of play our supporters will enjoy watching.
Southgate's Under-21s record
Games: 32
Won: 26
Draws: 3
Losses: 3
Goals scored: 77
Goals against: 19
Win percentage: 81%
Will your success with the England U21s give you more confidence and experience to achieve your goals with England?
Definitely having tournament experience with the U21s is a great advantage for us and we’ve experienced winning and we know what’s needed to be successful.
We hope to bring that experience and success into the senior team.
When you took the U21 job did you see the natural transition into taking the men’s team or was it something you weren’t expecting?
When I took the U21 job, it was with the aim of trying to improve young English players.
My passion for developing young English players was at the forefront of that and establishing a style of play throughout the age groups.
So to be able to progress now into the senior team is a great honour. It wasn’t initially the reason I joined the FA, but I’ve really enjoyed that transition.
How important is a player like Adam Lallana when wanting to play a pressing system? Do you need someone to start the press?
Certainly, we have a lot of players like Adam Lallana who at their clubs press extremely well. It’s a style of play that suits the young squad we have got really well.
It’s definitely something we aim to do as a team and I think when you have players with Adam’s intelligence in order to carry out that tactic, then that triggers off the pressing for the rest of the team.
How do you plan to deal with the expectations of the England job?
Understandably, the expectations of the England manager’s job are huge, but everyone here understands that as we are a proud footballing nation.
The responsibility of that job is something that I take very seriously. I aim to give all I can to produce a team that is exciting to watch and successful.
Are you hoping the FA will fork out for a desk so you don’t have to continue doing interviews in the changing rooms?
It’s a good point. I’ve had a word with the lads and we just wanted to give you an insight into the dressing-room that the first team use when they change here at St. George’s Park.
I’m very amused by your question.