New England manager Gareth Southgate has set out a clear mission statement for his four-year tenure: give the nation a team to be proud of.
The 46-year-old was confirmed as the latest man to lead the Three Lions having come through a four-game spell as interim boss with the team unbeaten.
Dubbed the ‘impossible job’ by some, Southgate refutes that claim and believes he can achieve great things with the current crop of players at his disposal.
Speaking to the media for the first time on Thursday, he said: “I would like an England team that excite the public, that supporters look forward to watching and are proud of. If we achieve those aims then we will be on the right pathway.
“We need a clear style of play and understanding of how we play. Anyone who has seen the Under-21s will know I like my teams to have a lot of possession, but we can’t be without a goal threat.
“I believe we have good players, that can play a high-pressing game that will excite supporters. We need to be savvy about out game-intelligence and game-management that perhaps we didn’t show in the last 10 minutes against Spain.”
He continued: “I have had a great insight into the job in the last few weeks. I don’t think any job is impossible.
“Certainly some are more difficult than others and this is one of those because of the great responsibility, butut I’m ready to embrace that.
“It’s a fantastic honour and a fantastic opportunity to help a young team develop. I will embrace this challenge.
“The hard work starts now if we want to be successful – there is so much to look forward to.”
Southgate also confirmed England’s all-time leading goalscorer Wayne Rooney will retain the captaincy.
However, he stressed this does not mean the Manchester United star will be an automatic starter as he seeks to challenge others in his squad to develop leadership qualities.
Southgate added: “Wayne Rooney is the England captain. I have only selected him in two of the four games, so he doesn’t expect to play in every game.
“It’s important to develop more leaders. When I played, particularly in 1996, there were captains throughout the team. If we are going to be successful then developing resilience is a key area for us.
“I like to treat the players as adults, there has to be trust as well as clear guidelines. But it is important players take leadership with that if we are going to have a top team I’m sure our ideas will align.”
