Gareth Southgate Quotes

"If you are not constantly improving and learning, then you are going to be stuck and not progress."

"I think one of the important things around tournaments and qualifying tournaments is the jeopardy around it."

"In life, there are really complex, difficult jobs, and some are more complicated and difficult than others. But when you look around at inventions, or records that have been broken, you have to tell yourself that anything is possible."

"Every time a young player comes in, he is excited and wants to prove himself, but also in football, the other players want to prove themselves to any new player that comes in, so that competition is the only way to stimulate performance."

"Good decisions are not necessarily playing it short every time you get the ball. The best teams can play longer or have a threat behind or play through or around. They adapt."

"In England, we've spent a bit of time being lost as to what our modern identity is."

"We have to make the players who haven't played matches feel valued."

"Results are a consequence of doing things well and having high standards, improving the detail of how we play."

"You don't want to be too proud, to get carried away, but if people give you praise, you don't want to throw it back."

"You're always loath to take a player off of his ability."

"I've got to think through all of those things - competition for places, players who need match minutes, and keeping the unity of the squad."

"Sometimes you have to make decisions for the bigger picture."

"If Brexit happens, there will have to be change - whether people want it or not - around work permits. It won't be freedom of movement for European players, so that landscape will change."

"In any sport, you're at your best when you're playing without thinking too much."

"In the end, success in a shoot-out is being able to perform a particular skill under pressure."

"I think we've always got to have a mind of the feeling for the supporters about the importance of each match. We've got to be careful not to make tournaments too big and then make qualifying too straightforward."

"A lot of teams who go on to win trophies lose in quarter-finals or semi-finals first."

"I played international football for England, and in many games, we were technically inferior to the opposition."

"When I think back to what my dreams were as a kid, the only one I had was to play for England."

"I'm committed to England, simple as that. I don't need to hedge my bets in keeping doors open or keeping things alive."

"If we are encouraging kids to go into academies, then presumably we are selling them the dream that they can play first-team football."

"Looking at the team sheets, you're never quite sure one weekend to the next who's going to be in a team and who isn't."

"As part of their recovery after a match, you want players to stay in the cold water for as long as they can, but naturally, they want to get out. You might have races or games in order to keep them engaged."

"I don't think the qualifying fixtures excite people. They're games against countries that we are expected to beat, rightly so, and then how many we score dictates whether it's a good performance or not."

"It was very painful to be so close to a World Cup final."

"I nearly missed the births of both of my children, and both were around international weeks."

"Unless you're at a club long enough that can develop a philosophy of playing and recruiting players that fit that way of playing, then you have got to be adaptable."

"We always have to believe in what is possible in life and not be hindered by history or expectations."

"I didn't like it as a player when I felt a coach was fudging the reasons for leaving me out. As a player, I wanted to know where I was lacking in my game and where I could improve in order to get back in the team."

"You have to cope with expectation if you want to play for England."