Boss Presents Vision To Players And Staff
BEFORE setting up camp in Portugal, Gareth Southgate set out his hopes and expectations for the season in a pre-season presentation to players and staff at Rockliffe Park and the Riverside Stadium.
The manager gathered his squad in a meeting room at the training ground to see a video of some of their best moments from last season, set to Coldplay's recent hit When I Ruled The World.
He then talked to them about what the club means to the fans and the area and spelled out the high standards he demanded both on and off the field.
One slide featured a fans' banner with the word "Erimus". Southgate explained that this was the town's motto and means We Shall Be.
"We wanted to remind the players what this club stands for both on the pitch and in the community," he said.
"We wanted to remind them what they are capable of doing, both in terms of what they have done already and what they can go on to do.
"Players want to be challenged. If they don't, then they are not just at the wrong football club, they are in the wrong job.
"We are a club that wants to be in Europe and that is where we are setting our aims again. That's where we want to go."
In the afternoon staff were invited to see the same presentation and their role in assisting the team to be successful was underlined.
"We wanted to share what we're trying to do with everyone here, not just the football side," he said.
"Everyone has a role to play and it's important they know they are part of the team."
Staff broke out into spontaneous applause at the end of the presentation.
Southgate is delighted at the way his squad are taking on board the message he is trying to put across.
"I'm really excited about this year," he said. "There is a tremendous energy and ambition among this group of players to achieve things.
"There's a good feel about the place and lots of good things going on. I know there's so much more to come from these players.
"We have a longer term view about what we want to do. We want to bring players in who we can develop. That will allow them to buy in to what we want to do."
