England new boy Declan Rice praises ‘top-drawer’ Gareth Southgate after Wembley debut in Czech Republic rout

Action Images via Reuters

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has praised fearless England boss Gareth Southgate after being handed his international debut in front of 82,000 fans at Wembley.

Rice was called into the England squad last week for the first time since switching international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland.

After a tumultuous build-up, in which he was forced to apologise for an old social media post which appeared to support the IRA, Rice was handed his first cap as a 63rd-minute substitute, replacing Dele Alli in the 5-0 win over the Czech Republic on Friday.

Having watched the beginning of Southgate’s revolution from afar, the 20-year-old has been suitably impressed with his first taste of life under the most popular England boss in a generation.

“I knew I’d be coming into a great camp, with a great manager and great players,” he told West Ham’s website.

“Training’s been really good, the standard’s very high.

Getty Images

“You hear a lot of stuff about how good [Southgate] is at man-management and how he is with the players, and I have to say he’s been top-drawer with me.

“He gives you the confidence to go out and play, and he wants you to express yourself.

“You see tonight he gave Callum Hudson-Odoi his debut as well.

"He’s not afraid and I think that is really good for the young English players coming through.”

In pictures | England vs Czech Republic | 22/03/2019

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