Southgate sees Lallana as crucial to tactical plans

Gareth Southgate has revealed that he sees players like Adam Lallana as being crucial to tactical plans after being appointed England manager on a full-time basis.

The former England defender was initially named as Sam Allardyce’s interim successor in October and was handed the reins permanently on Wednesday after an unbeaten four-match audition.

Southgate’s confirmation now allows the former England Under-21 coach to concentrate on the matters at hand with the senior team.

One aspect he covered in the wake of his official appointment was England’s style of play and how he sees Liverpool midfielder Lallana as particularly important if his attempts to implement an intense pressing style are to succeed.

In a Q&A session on England’s official Twitter account, Southgate said: “Certainly I think we have a lot of players like Lallana who at their clubs press extremely well.

.@PLDailyOpinions very important! #AskGareth pic.twitter.com/Z7AzTffH45

— England (@England) November 30, 2016

“It’s a style of play that suits the young squad we’ve got. So definitely that’s something we aim to do as a team and I think when you have players of Adam’s intelligence in order to carry out that tactic it triggers it in the rest of the team.

“I think we have to create a winning team first and foremost, but anyone who has seen the Under-21 and junior teams will know we want to dominate possession when possible.

“To be become a world-class team that’s what we have to do against the very best.

“We also have players that are very good at pressing and want to press so I think that’s a style of play our supporters will enjoy watching.”

Southgate’s route to getting the job has seen him guide highly rated young players through from the Under-21s to the senior team and he will not be shy in giving youngsters a chance.

“I think we already have a very young squad actually,” he responded. “If you look at likes of Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Marcus Rashford, they can still all play for the Under-21s now.

“Although we do have some experienced players, we don’t have a wealth of experience.

“But there definitely are some players in our Under-21s currently and in younger age groups that we are hoping to bring into the senior team.”

.@tomdcfcmorris plenty to be positive about! #AskGareth pic.twitter.com/QDkX9ZpW2w

— England (@England) November 30, 2016