Gareth Southgate has coached his fair share of Manchester City players during his time as the England manager.
In the current 2024 European Championship, Southgate has three figures from Pep Guardiola’s squad at the Etihad Stadium in his ranks.
Despite that, after seeing his side draw 1-1 against Denmark in their second group game of the Euros, the England boss mentioned another City player in one of his post-match press conferences who currently isn’t in the squad.
This then led to one pundit sharing what ended up being a rather outraged reaction to what Southgate had to say.
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Jamie O’Hara left stunned by what Gareth Southgate said about Man City player after latest England game
Jamie O’Hara was not shy when sharing his reaction to Southgate’s comments on talkSPORT after the 1-1 draw against Denmark where he said that his side have struggled with getting a cohesive midfield because they don’t have a replacement for Kalvin Phillips.
He said: “First game he said we need to conserve energy after going 1-0 up and he was not happy with the fact we were running around more than we should, and in the next game he says we haven’t got a replacement for Kalvin Phillips.
“Kalvin Phillips!? Is he winding me up? Kalvin Phillips? Has he come out and said that after a game? That we haven’t got a replacement for Kalvin Phillips? Come on mate, seriously? Is he having a laugh?”
Southgate needs to forget about Phillips
Having only started six of the 31 games he’s appeared in for City across all competitions before then going on to have a disappointing loan spell at West Ham United, it came as no surprise that Phillips wasn’t included in the England squad for the Euros.
Back in April, West Ham striker Michail Antonio said that the Englishman lost his confidence during his time at City but couldn’t get it back during his time at the East London club.
However, Southgate’s latest comments make us feel that he still sees the City man as a key figure for how he wants to set up his England side.
Interestingly, despite being included in the squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Southgate didn’t start Phillips in any of the five games England played in that tournament, only using him as a substitute in two matches.
In our view, with the midfielder’s recent form not warranting a place in the England team, the Three Lions boss should find a way to get the best out of the players he has picked for this tournament.