Gareth Southgate profile: 'level-headed grafter' who leads by example

Leader: England manager Gareth Southgate
Jeremy Selwyn
Daniel Omahony9 July 2018

Gareth Southgate is a “level-headed grafter” and a private man who will be bemused by his sudden elevation to “national treasure” status, close friends said today.

As his squad of players prepare for only the third World Cup semi-final in England’s footballing history the soaring reputation of the 47-year-old has reached levels unmatched by any Three Lions coach since Sir Bobby Robson.

There have already been calls for him to be knighted like his two semi-final achieving predecessors, Sir Bobby, who took England to the penultimate stage in 1990, and Sir Alf Ramsey, the only England manager to have won the World Cup.

But according to one of his closest friends the adulation will not sit easily with the former player previously best known for the fateful penalty miss against Germany in Euro 96.

Southgate celebrates England's victory over Sweden
EPA

Alan Smith, who managed Southgate at Crystal Palace, told the Standard: “He made me laugh the other day. He said ‘there’s so many nice things being said about me, I’ve got a warm feeling’. Then he said, ‘I’m not sure if I like it’.

“He’s never been in this position. My personal opinion is he won’t feel particularly comfortable with it – he’s very much a private person.”

Southgate, who was born in Watford in 1970 to a middle class family - his father Clive worked at IBM and his mother Barbara was a teacher - achieved eight O-levels before joining Crystal Palace as an apprentice.

His waistcoats have earned him a cult following
PA

Smith, 71, who coached Southgate at youth level before making him first-team captain at Selhurst Park, said he was unsurprised by his former protégé’s success.

“The one thing I have always known about him is that he’s a leader. He leads by example, not by what he says - he’s a really good communicator.

“He doesn’t ask other people to do what he can’t do,” Smith said. “I’ve known him 30 years now, and I’ve never really known him any different. He hasn’t changed one bit.”

Gareth Southgate hugs England striker Harry Kane
REUTERS

Describing the England manager as a “grafter”, Smith said Southgate – who later joined Smith at Middlesbrough as a football consultant - had shown characteristic “calm and attention to detail” throughout the tournament, as well as an ability to inspire players to victory.

“Gareth has played in the rough and tumble of 500 league games – he knows what the players think and don’t think and what they like and don’t like,” he said. “He’s got that real club mentality with this lot.”

Smith, who has been exchanging texts with Southgate while he is in Russia, said the manager’s calm approach reminded him of the late Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins.

“He’s meticulously polite but he’s a got real edge to him. You can’t play 55 times for England and captain three clubs and just be nice. You’ve got to have another side to you,” he said.

“He’s also got a great sense of humour, very dry. I sent him a picture of a pint of Young’s beer the other day and he said, ‘It’s amazing that I can do anything I like in the world at the moment, but I can’t get a pint of Young’s beer’.”

Southgate's fondness for waistcoats has apparenlty prompted a 35pc bump in sales
REUTERS

Asked about Southgate’s taste for Marks and Spencer’s waistcoats – apparently responsible for a 35 per cent bump in sales – Smith added: “He’s always been a smart dresser, it’s just getting exposed more.”

Simon Osborn, Southgate’s former teammate at Crystal Palace, said the England manager had “galvanised” the national team and united the country.

“It’s brilliant. It makes me proud what he’s done since he’s been there,” he said. “I know there were a few doubters but he’s just brought the team together. The team are playing for him and giving their all, and its united a nation at the moment.”

Osborn, who made 55 appearances for Palace between 1988 and 1994, said that despite the “noise” surrounding Southgate, all the focus would be on the football.

“I’m not bothered about whether he got a knighthood and I’m sure Gareth would be exactly the same,” he said. “All he wants to do is go and win games.”

The pair’s former coach Smith said it was “inevitable” Southgate would be knighted following the tournament, although agreed the manager would not be seeking the honour.

“In the context of football he probably does deserve it, but I think he would agree with me that in the world as it is there are probably other people out there [more deserving].”

World Cup success could have other consequences, however. Speaking just hours before David Davis resigned as Brexit secretary, Smith said: “I think Theresa May will be quite happy thinking, ‘thank god this has come along at the right time’, saying ‘Gareth, come and do Brexit for us, it will be easier if you do it’. And by the way, he could.

“I think he’s got it in his mind that he’s got this far now, he wants to see it through. I think he also realises there’s probably never going to be a better chance than what he’s got.”

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