Henderson hails ‘brilliant’ Southgate

The former Middlesbrough manager has stepped into the role following the sacking of Sam Allardyce and he has been lauded by the midfielder, who captained the side against Slovenia

England midfielder Jordan Henderson has praised the “brilliant” Gareth Southgate after the interim manager’s first two games in charge.

Henderson captained England as Wayne Rooney was dropped to the bench for the 0-0 draw against Slovenia in World Cup qualifying, days after a win over Malta.

And the Liverpool skipper has now lauded Southgate, who took over from the disgraced Sam Allardyce late last month, for his early impact at the helm.

“The manager has been brilliant. The players have got on really well with him this week,” Henderson said.

“We need to put in the performances, not just for ourselves, but the fans and him and the coaching staff as well to make sure we keep working together for a long time.”

England are top of Group F in qualifying after taking seven points from their opening three games, and Henderson believes Southgate has managed the squad well in his short period in charge.

“He’s spoken to the players as a group and individually as well and I think that has helped,” he added.

“We’ve worked well together as a group.

“He gives responsibility to players and he listens. It’s been a good week. It would have been better with two wins, but we’ve got to take the positives: beating Malta and getting a good point from this game.”