Gareth Southgate has admitted he is not satisfied with his latest England squad, conceding he has selected a number of players who might not ordinarily warrant a place and questioning whether some might be guilty of complacency before a week when his team hope to qualify for the World Cup.
England can make certain of their place in Russia next summer by defeating Slovenia at Wembley next Thursday but Southgate was clearly unhappy after naming a 26-man squad that includes a recall for Fabien Delph of Manchester City and the selection of several players who are below their best form.
Jamie Vardy’s absence with a hip problem has increased the manager’s worries and will inevitably raise questions bearing in mind the Leicester City striker is expected to play for his club at Bournemouth on Saturday. However, Southgate insisted he understood Vardy’s reasons for pulling out and made it clear he was more concerned about the number of players who were not playing well.
“It’s frustrating because the biggest story here is we have about 12 players missing with injury,” Southgate said. “It’s incredible. If you were to say, ‘Am I entirely happy with the squad I’ve named?’ then no, because we’ve got too many good players missing with injury. And the consequence of that, you could well argue, is that there are one or two in the squad who haven’t necessarily warranted it on their performances.”
Southgate declined to identify who he meant but his latest squad selection, also taking in the game in Lithuania next Sunday, comes at a time when Alex Oxlade‑Chamberlain, Jermain Defoe, Daniel Sturridge and Jesse Lingard have had slow starts to the season. Delph played for Manchester City in their Champions League tie against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday but has not started a Premier League game since 8 April and Southgate had previously told his players he would not select them unless they were regulars for their clubs.
That has become difficult to maintain at a time when England’s list of absentees now includes Vardy, Danny Rose, Adam Lallana, Danny Drinkwater, Nathaniel Chalobah, Tom Heaton, Michail Antonio, Nathaniel Clyne, Ross Barkley and Danny Welbeck. Phil Jones and Michael Keane have both been called up but are carrying injuries of their own and Southgate sounded as though he expected them to pull out.
England’s players meet at St George’s Park on Sunday and Southgate intends to tell them he is not happy about the lack of competition for places. “The reality is that I don’t want players to be comfortable,” he said. “The danger when you don’t have competition for places is twofold. What’s the level needed to get in the squad? And is everyone fulfilling that at the moment? Well, I’m not so sure they are.
“There’s been a couple of easy decisions because I haven’t had to make any phone calls [to players who might feel hard done by]. They are always difficult phone calls to make but I’d rather be making them. After that, we come into training and it’s: ‘Am I a shoo-in to get in the team or do I have to push a bit harder because I have a couple snapping at my heels?’ There’s a good challenge for those players in the next week if they want to stay in the squad.”
Vardy will be missing because he needs a painkilling injection to help him manage a hip issue and Southgate was asked whether the player’s involvement for Leicester this weekend would leave the England management looking weak.
“It could look like that but, in the end, the most important conversation for me is with the player. From the conversation I’ve had with him, I know how much he wants to play but how much pain he’s in. He’d run through brick walls for us, no question, and his mentality is top drawer. Whatever the perception, it’s not the reality. I have a responsibility to every player and I’ve never asked a player to play with an injury that I thought needed sorting.”
Southgate, who revealed he had unsuccessfully tried to talk James Milner out of international retirement last season, is also aware Dele Alli might be unavailable after Fifa’s disciplinary case, held on Thursday, into the player’s middle-finger gesture during the World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.
“Dele fully understands his responsibilities,” Southgate said. “He knows it’s something he won’t do again. We have given our side of events and Dele has given his side of events. We’ve had a good chat with Dele about lots of different things. The biggest disappointment for him is missing football.”
