{"id":9241,"date":"2021-10-25T16:31:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T16:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=report&p=9241"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:14:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:14:22","slug":"how-gareth-southgate-protects-his-resilience-and-wellbeing","status":"publish","type":"report","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/how-gareth-southgate-protects-his-resilience-and-wellbeing\/","title":{"rendered":"How Gareth Southgate Protects his Resilience and Wellbeing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 25 Oct 2021 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Reports<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

How Gareth Southgate Protects his Resilience and Wellbeing<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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Gareth Southgate ponders the question: what does the term \u2018resilience\u2019 mean to him?<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

\u201cI would say the ability to withstand and respond to difficulties, setbacks,\u201d he says, adding: \u201cI\u2019ve never thought of defining it before. I have a picture in my head of what it would look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is that picture? \u201cIt looks like King Canute on the beach with all the waves crashing in and him standing there trying to keep everything out \u2013 or probably me playing at Anfield a few times with Crystal Palace \u2013 that\u2019s what it looks like!\u201d<\/p>\n

Canute the Great, the 11th<\/sup> Century King of Denmark, Norway and England, failed to keep the advancing tide at bay in the apocryphal tale, yet history records that Southgate won 2-1 with Palace on his first trip to play Liverpool at Anfield in November 1991. No doubt his next two visits \u2013 5-0 and 6-1 Palace defeats \u2013 are uppermost in his mind at this point.<\/p>\n

The England men\u2019s Head Coach, direct from his home in Yorkshire, logged on to record an episode of the Rules of the Game<\/em><\/a> podcast with Leaders\u2019 Founder Jimmy Worrall ahead of his team\u2019s Euro 2020 campaign. Several months later, as we bring this chat to the Leaders Performance Hub, it feels poignant to be discussing resilience following England\u2019s progression to the final, where they narrowly lost 3-2 on penalties to Italy at Wembley Stadium.<\/p>\n

England, with the youngest squad in the tournament, went one better than their semi-final appearance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia \u2013 no mean feat given that the previous five decades yielded just three semi-final appearances for England\u2019s men. If their technical and tactical progression continues under Southgate and his staff, there is hope that the team will be genuine contenders at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They will also need to put their heartbreaking defeat to Italy behind them, tapping into their resilience in the process.<\/p>\n

Of resilience, Southgate explains that he considers it a skill like any other. \u201cWithout doubt, I think it\u2019s developed over time,\u201d he says before highlighting a significant distinction. \u201cWith lots of skills and attributes, you can develop, read and educate yourself, you can study. But I think, in the end, this type of attribute, you have to suffer, I\u2019m afraid, to really develop it, understand it, and recognise its importance.\u201d Unwittingly, the World Cup in Russia and the Euros have afforded both the coach and his players ample opportunity to \u2018suffer\u2019 and the question now is: what happens next?<\/p>\n

Springing back<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Resilience\u2019 derives from the Latin \u2018resilio\u2019, which means \u2018 to spring back\u2019 and, throughout his playing and coaching career, Southgate has endured numerous setbacks and, in every case, has sprung back in better shape, whether personally or at a team level.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a doubt, I think people can help you through the process and give you an understanding of what you\u2019ve actually experienced; and that would be a good idea for developing athletes or coaches,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I think, in the end, [resilience] is about how you respond and the things you take from those different experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southgate endured his most noted setback towards the end of Euro 96, a tournament where he had consistently been one of England\u2019s best performers. In England\u2019s semi-final penalty shootout with eventual winners Germany, Southgate\u2019s penalty was saved by German goalkeeper Andreas K\u00f6pke. The defeat came in an era where mass media scrutiny was strong, but nowhere near on the levels of the internet and social media age.<\/p>\n

A quarter of a century later, and having been in English sport\u2019s most high-profile coaching role for almost five years, Southgate feels the public gaze more intensely than at any point during a playing career that saw him play for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough in the English Premier League and represent England on 57 occasions. He admits it can affect him but tries to make light of that fact. \u201cThe reality is that every now and then we\u2019ll Google what\u2019s going on and see what\u2019s there, have a little peek, then curl up in a ball and try and hide from it!<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the old days, it was just the newspapers; that was difficult, but they went to print at 11 o\u2019clock and you had at least a day before they came again. Now, within 30 seconds of something happening, there\u2019s this instant social media reaction, which means, to stay balanced and calm, is even more important than ever. The conversations that used to happen in the pub, that you didn\u2019t hear after a game, now happen and they\u2019re out there and other people pick them up, the rest of the media pick them up, and they become the questions that are asked of you or the narrative that exists. I think the world of sport is far more dynamic and intrusive than it\u2019s ever been and I don\u2019t see that reverting back, frankly. It\u2019s going to be where we are now and probably further beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staying \u2018balanced and calm\u2019, as he puts it, can be easier said than done. A vital stage in Southgate\u2019s own development was recognising the link between his resilience and his wellbeing. \u201cWhat I recognise about myself is that if I feel in a good place, that my own wellbeing is in a good place in terms of sleep, exercise, then in actual fact I feel stronger to take those things on and less affected by it. If I\u2019m not sleeping well and I\u2019ve been travelling a lot, if I\u2019m rundown, I\u2019m not physically in as good a place, I find that can affect my mood a little bit more and then I\u2019ve got to be careful with my decision making.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very aware of my own personal state and [I am] able to control that and react to that a little bit more and put things into perspective better as I get older.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southgate has always expressed an appetite for self-development and, having been sacked from his first coaching role with Middlesbrough in 2009, began rebuilding his coaching career within the auspices of the Football Association, initially as Head of Elite Development, then as Head Coach of the England men\u2019s under-21s, before taking the senior men\u2019s team, first in a caretaker capacity and then, seven weeks later, in November 2016, as a permanent appointment.<\/p>\n

As Head Coach, he has attended a series of courses where wellbeing and resilience have been the focus, including one at UK Sport. \u201cWhat really interested me was that the first part of all of these courses was about knowing yourself, and I hadn\u2019t really considered that. At first I thought: \u2018what are we doing here? Why are we going into this?\u2019 and then as I got through probably the third time of doing it suddenly the penny dropped. That understanding of how you react, your responses in certain situations, until you\u2019ve got that real awareness, until you can look after yourself, then how can you realistically\u2026\u201d he tails off as his thoughts shift to the upcoming Euros.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going into a major championship now, probably 45 days away. My energy levels and how I am have got to be spot-on to be able to affect the group. If I can\u2019t have my own awareness and be in a good place and in control of those things, then it\u2019s very difficult to affect others to the best possible level. I think going on those courses, having an understanding of that, so that I can recognise those moments was important.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gradually overcame his initial scepticism. \u201cI was expecting gimmicky solutions or really scientific, modern solutions but, actually, I\u2019ve not heard anything that\u2019s been more helpful than probably things that we\u2019ve done for centuries on sleep, recovery, nutrition, perhaps breathing exercises, meditation, those types of things. Whenever I\u2019ve sat and people have been delivering a talk or a lecture on this area, I\u2019ve been expecting something really scientific, and it hasn\u2019t been that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does Southgate take that understanding and work to ensure that his resilience levels are where they need to be come competition time? \u201cI would definitely [take] a little more time to myself ,\u201d he says. \u201cAgain, I think an understanding of where you get your energy from. For some people, that would be socialising and being with a group, and I like those situations at certain times and it would have to be with the right group \u2013 you\u2019re in, Jimmy, that\u2019s the good news! \u2013 but then I know that one of my weaknesses is to take too much on and not allow myself breathing space. Josie [Molloy – the Football Association’s Technical Directorate Office Business Support Coordinator], who looks after me diary-wise, she\u2019s brilliant at making sure I\u2019ve got time and she\u2019s better at that than I am.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get energy from having moments where perhaps I\u2019m just out walking the dogs or listening to some music or a podcast or whatever. I need to give myself that space to almost physically breathe that fresh air in; but then I am able to come back into the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was younger, I would have felt that I have to be in the office every day; first in, last to leave, now I recognise that I\u2019ve got to be a little bit more selfish with my time at certain moments. Inevitably, as a leader, you\u2019ve got to give to everybody else for the majority of the time, but I\u2019m comfortable at making space for myself in those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is, however, room for improvement and he admits to his shortcomings as a leader with real openness and honesty. \u201cTaking too much on would be one because there\u2019s always somebody you think you can help and you\u2019re just leaving the office and they want 20 minutes, and 20 minutes becomes 45. That is definitely a watch-out for me. And I would say one area that I\u2019ve got a lot better at but can still be even better is being more demanding of other people. I\u2019m very demanding of myself and I think, if I reflect back, there\u2019s been moments where I\u2019ve allowed others to get away with things I shouldn\u2019t have or that could have pushed the team even more. So probably being in lockdown for 12 months, I\u2019ve become a more irritated, grumpy, grouchy so-and-so and I\u2019ve had even lower tolerance levels! So that\u2019s been a good reflection for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Download Performance 23<\/strong><\/p>\n

A full version of this interview appeared in our latest Performance journal, which also featured\u00a0the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/strong> of Major League Baseball, as well as the world-renowned New Zealand Rugby<\/strong>, and British Wheelchair Basketball<\/strong>, who runs some of the finest programmes in the sport. Edd Vahid of Premier League club Southampton FC<\/strong> also penned a column focusing on talent pathways.<\/em><\/p>\n