England has 'some exciting young players' for World Cup, says Gareth Southgate

The England manager admits the team's lack of success in global competitions in the recent past has given a "slightly different feel" ahead of the marquee event.

Gareth Southgate had been appointed England's manager in November, 2016.

England manager Gareth Southgate has admitted the team's lack of success in global competitions in the recent past has given "a slightly different feel" ahead of the World Cup, but has declared "we've got some exciting young players."

In an interview with FIFA.com , Southgate speaks of the challenges he has faced as England manager, and looks ahead to the marquee event.

A player who has made 57 appearances for the national team and who played at a time when England had been doing well as an international outfit, Southgate knows the expectation of the current crop is comparatively lesser compared to when he played.

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"I guess in '98, we'd been in a semifinal in 1990 (Italy) and a semifinal at UEFA Euro 1996, so, the expectations were different. Unfortunately, the last couple of tournaments haven't gone so well for us, so, I think there is a slightly different feel." (England was knocked of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in the group stage, while it bowed out at the first knockout round in UEFA Euro 2016 with a defeat to Iceland.)

'Some places in the squad up for grabs'

Southgate said the England U-17 and U-20 players are likely to be the future and unlikely to feature for the senior team in Russia. "It's possible (the young players being picked in the England senior men's squad), but generally speaking, those guys are going to be the future. There are definitely some places in the squad up for grabs, but not many," added the England manager.

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Southgate took over as manager from Sam Allardyce only in November 2016, and had a massive task on his hands to ensure England qualified for the quadrennial event. "It was an unusual circumstance," the England manager said about his opening days and weeks in charge of the national squad.

"Both Roy (Hodgson) and Sam (Allardyce) were very good to me when they were in the position, so it wasn't exactly an opportunity I was looking for. When Sam left, really we had three days to prepare for a camp, so there wasn't a lot of time to think," said Southgate,

However, "I knew I was the person best placed to step in and keep the team on track for qualification."