MX23RW : Friday, November 8 22:40:48| >> :120:14647:14647:

Gareth Southgate aiming to make England world's best side

Southgate aiming to make England world's best
© SilverHub
England manager Gareth Southgate insists that players' past reputation will count for little when selecting his squad, as he aims to transform the Three Lions' fortunes.

Gareth Southgate has claimed that he will not settle for anything less than top spot in the rankings as he aims to end England's long wait for success.

The 46-year-old was ushered in as the Three Lions' third boss in the space of five months last year, following the departures of Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce in differing circumstances.

Southgate has made a solid start at Wembley by winning two and drawing two of his four interim games in charge, before being handed the position on a full-time basis in November.

Tasked with transforming England's fortunes following two particularly poor showings in back-to-back major tournaments, the former Middlesbrough chief is looking to take inspiration from the turnaround in form of the nation's rugby side under Eddie Jones.

"I'm very conscious I've got to get the balance right because ultimately my responsibility is to produce a winning England team," he told The Telegraph. "I never pick on reputation - form has to come into it. You have to look at the opposition and the type of game you're expecting and select the players best suited to that.

"We have players of great potential but at the moment we're 13th in the world. We've got to be better, everything we do has got to be better. Even being second in the world isn't good enough, we have to be the best we can be, and that's the best.

"It's clear [the England rugby side] don't believe they can be beaten. That plays a huge role. You get a sense of the culture that's there. One of the things I was interested in was that culture. How are they working? How do they deliver? Because that's what we are trying to take into the England team: how do we create an environment that will bring the best out of the players?"

England's next outing is a trip to face Germany at the Westfalenstadion on March 22, before a home World Cup 2018 qualifier against Lithuania four days later.

ID:291848: cacheID:291848:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2994:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Interim manager Gareth Southgate watches on during England training on October 4, 2016
Read Next:
Southgate visits England rugby camp
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!