Southgate’s early struggles are shaping

In 2006 Middlesbrough captain Gareth Southgate abruptly retired from football at the age of 35, and within days was a surprise appointment as the club’s new manager.

But the appointment was described in places as “bold” and “sparking controversy”, as Southgate did not have the necessary coaching qualifications.

The club argued that was because he hadn’t had time during a career at the top of the game during which he made more than 500 appearances and won 57 England caps. League Managers’ Association chief executive John Barnwell opposed the appointment, saying: “They can’t do it.” The LMA later compromised.

Southgate was thrust into the Premier League limelight, and would spend the next 12 months studying for his Uefa Pro Licence, while navigating all the pitfalls of elite management as a total novice.

Nearly two decades on, he manages England’s senior men’s team.

And Steve Guinan, the lead coach of the Football Association’s International Player to Coach programme, says Southgate’s reflections on those difficult first few months of his management career were the catalyst for a scheme to help ex-England players get a more rounded preparation for their next step in the game.

“The whole idea for the IP2C course came after a conversation with Gareth,” says Guinan. “He didn’t feel he got much support in the area he needed it. You’re coaching technically and tactically, but there’s nothing about leadership.

“There’s nothing about managing dressing rooms and difficult conversations, managing up, recruitment, the backroom team.

“Gareth said: ‘Why don’t we just help our own?’ The lads who have given up so much time in summers, England camps, European Championships, World Cups. If their profile is going to allow them to get a job before others – rightly or wrongly – let’s give them a better chance than he had at Middlesbrough.”

The course started in 2021, with graduates including Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Carlton Cole and Michael Dawson. The current cohort includes retired England and Premier League players such as Emile Heskey, Jack Wilshere, Leighton Baines, Darius Vassell, Tom Cleverley and Jermain Defoe. Leicester defender Conor Coady is the first active player to join the scheme.

Guinan says that while their “profile” means these players may get that first manager’s job more easily, “if you’re not successful, the chances of getting a second job are really minimal”.

“Everyone’s journey is totally different, but what we are trying to do is give them an accelerated learning programme and give them more tools and more strategies to use when they do get in that spotlight,” Guinan adds.

“The programme is going to throw a lot of things at them they wouldn’t get on a coaching qualification so they have better success hopefully.”

This year’s course included spending time with Burnley manager Vincent Kompany. Each of the former players is psychometrically assessed and given their own individual programme, with masterclasses and real-life experiences from experts inside and outside of football, including Southgate himself and European Under-21 Championship-winning England boss Lee Carsley.

BBC Sport went to St George’s Park to speak to some of those former England players about their experiences.

Darius Vassell – forwards coach with Wolves academy

Vassell, 43, played 22 times for England and was a team-mate of Southgate at Aston Villa and Vincent Kompany at Manchester City while making more than 250 Premier League appearances. He retired in 2012.

“Coaching was the last thing on my mind. All of the guys I have played with, they’ve always said: ‘I never would have seen you as somebody who would go into that.’

“I don’t think I was that vocal as a player. I was never a captain, so it wouldn’t strike anybody that it’s a role I would take on in future.

“I do find myself emulating a little bit how my coaches used to be in my day – which was loud and trying to get the message across, and a lot of intensity. I have that to offer the lads if they want it.

“We’ve done a lot of going abroad to see how international managers and coaches go about their work. We’ve been in football all our lives so it’s very hard to show us things that we haven’t seen.

“I played with Vincent Kompany at Manchester City. Getting to see how he has developed into a manager from a player, watching him deal with people with the same mentality he had as a skipper at City… it makes you realise the people you have had around you. They are qualities you can use yourself.

“It’s brutal once you get there [into management]. That’s one of the things that Vincent said – that it’s very difficult to establish and maintain your position. Everyone leaves or gets sacked. He told us to never forget that. Your preparation is the most important thing because when you go into it you need to be ready.

“If you start while you aren’t ready that becomes detrimental to your performance. You can’t get that back. That becomes a cloud above you and it’s hard to get out of.”

On playing under Southgate’s captaincy at Aston Villa

“I came through Villa as a youngster at 16-17 years old and Gareth was the captain. He was the person responsible for making sure the youngsters in the team were integrated and felt part of it, that we were protected and safe.

“I felt all of those things, because my career blossomed under his guidance.

“I haven’t picked his brain as such. The relationship between myself and Gareth is exactly the same as it was when we were kids. I see him as somebody that can offer advice, guide me, give me support if need be.”

Tom Cleverley – Watford Under-18s head coach

Cleverley, 34, played 13 times for England and made more than 300 career appearances for teams such as Manchester United, Everton and Watford. He retired this year.

“It’s something I was passionate about, especially being club captain at Watford towards the end of my career – helping the young players and trying to develop people. It’s a great course and insight you can’t get anywhere else.

“When you see these guys who have had 9-10 years’ experience you realise how much of a rookie you are. I’ve been in the job at Watford for three months now. You’re taking notes, you’re enthralled in the conversation and the experience that they can pass on.

“It’s important you don’t put too much pressure on yourself and have to be something you’re not. Stick to who you are, don’t have an ego. You have plenty to learn. It’s that acceptance that you’re at the bottom of the learning ladder again.

“Asking Lee Carsley how he deals with players who aren’t playing in a tournament, or asking Vincent Kompany what metrics does he look for in recruiting players… it really is priceless.

“I wish I had this knowledge when I was a player. You start to see the game a bit differently.”

Jermain Defoe – Tottenham academy coach

Defoe, 40, played 57 times for England and represented several Premier League teams, including West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth and Sunderland. He retired in 2022, aged 39, and has made a BBC Sounds podcast about his ambition to get into coaching and management

• Jermain Defoe podcast: Former England striker on management ambitions
• Listen on BBC Sounds: Jermain Defoe: Outside The Box
• Listen: The Sports Desk – Why are there so few black football managers?

“I was playing until I was 39 and only towards the back end of my career… when I had a player-coach role at Rangers… I spoke to Steven Gerrard about his experiences and after that I thought, ‘I want to coach’.

“If you want to be a manager, it’s completely different. When you have a squad of 25 players, that’s 25 problems. You get different characters, different egos. I think that managing people is really important. I think 80% of managing is dealing with people more than anything else.

“When you do your coaching badges, they teach you how to coach. As the years go on, you improve as a coach [but] that’s probably the easy part. Dealing with players is probably the hardest part.

“I would love to manage as I love football, but I don’t want to rush anything. I don’t want to get a first job, fail and then not get another job because I’ve rushed into it. I want to take my time but in football you never know, an opportunity could come tomorrow. I would like to take baby steps and learn at Tottenham. When the opportunity comes, then hopefully it’s the right one for me.

On being a manager after a high-profile career

“When you walk into a changing room, they expect so much. It’s like ‘OK, you’ve had a top career, bring it’.

“I think it’s important to have a good team around you…. someone that’s coached for a long time. You can’t do everything as coach. You can’t see everything.”

— Reports /TrainViral/