George Boateng makes bold Gareth Southgate claim and says Jack Grealish ‘will always feel he has to prove himself at City’

In the third part of an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes: Fanzone, George Boateng discusses Gareth Southgate, Jack Grealish, hopes of getting back into management and his relationship with Steven Gerrard during his time as a coach at Aston Villa.

In part one, the former Aston Villa midfielder talked about Chelsea, Arsenal, Jude Bellingham and Liverpool which he followed with his thoughts on Newcastle in the second part.

Any team in England would take Southgate on as head coach

Gareth Southgate, first and foremost, has transformed the English national team. So often in the past, we’ve seen fans and media put so much pressure on the team to succeed, but Gareth ha’s changed that culture. I always felt, as an outsider, that those players were operating under so much pressure, they simply couldn’t live up to expectations. But also, internally, I always felt like there was a bit of fear in that squad. They didn’t feel comfortable, but Gareth has changed all of that.

It’s an amazing job that Gareth has done. I actually think people will only realise just how great he’s been for the country when he walks away from the job, but I think he should be celebrated here and now.

The England job suits Gareth to a tee. He represents the culture and he has such a good relationship with his squad –  they’ve been on this journey together. The players trust him and he gives them the confidence and space to go and express themselves. England should count themselves lucky Gareth Southgate is staying on, because it would be a huge loss if he had moved on. I really hope that he can put a trophy behind the work that he’s done so far. I never thought I’d see an England team play the brand of football they are right now, and that’s down to him and his players.

I worked with Gareth. I played under him and I know him very well, but there’s no bias here – I’m speaking objectively. If you’re an outsider and you’re watching England right now, they’re amazing – it’s fantastic to watch them play.

I think that based on what he has achieved with England, any team in the country would take Gareth on as a head coach, whether it’s a top-four team or a side on the up. I don’t think he’d be short of interest from the biggest clubs. It’s more a case of what would Gareth like to handle; if it’s not an international job, what would he want from a club? Is he able to handle a job at a club who are competing for every trophy? I think so.

Grealish will always feel he has to prove himself at City

Jack Grealish – and everyone at the club – knew that he was too good for Aston Villa. He needed to go and explore his full potential, The question was always around whether or not Jack was prepared to do that, because he was very much in his comfort zone at Aston Villa, playing amazing and carrying the team. But – for international recognition – he needed to go and play for a top-four team and prove himself again.

I think he’s done that. He’s having a good season although I think it could be better in terms of his return. Having played 14 league games, I think it’s fair to expect maybe seven goals and five assists, somewhere around that region, and he’s still some way off those figures.

It’s a difficult adjustment, though. When you play for a team like Aston Villa, a lot of the time you’re playing in your own half. When you play for Manchester City, you’re always dominating possession and playing in your opponent’s half, and that means there’s no space in behind which is where Jack operates best. You then have to be really clever, to try to create things through combination play, because of that lack of space. There are so many more options for a player like Jack at a club like Villa, because of how teams set up against you, but he’s now at one of the best clubs in the world, and so naturally teams are going to make it as difficult as they can for their forwards.

Jack will constantly feel he has to prove himself at Manchester City, and we’re starting to see signs of him getting back to his best. I’m a huge fan of Jack, and I’ve no doubt his trophy cabinet will be full by the end of his career.

I’m happy to manage anywhere in England’s top five leagues

I took the decision to learn the development side of coaching, which is why I went down the academy route, learning on the job, rather than thinking ‘I’m an ex-Premier League player, so I should be able to walk straight into a job’.

Coaching at Blackburn Rovers and then spending three years at Aston Villa has really helped with my development and  I’m really grateful to both clubs and the tools they gave me. Then, obviously, I was involved with Ghana last year, from February through to the World Cup, where I went as their assistant. It was a fantastic experience for me, and something completely different. It was fascinating to go away on international duty as a coach, having also done so as a player; it’s totally different.

I find myself asking questions all the time, largely around how to develop young players. What do I need to know? What do I need to understand? What steps do I need to take to develop young players? But, no matter what age you are, you should always want to improve – so how do you help your senior players do that? These are the questions I’ve spent a lot of time asking myself.

Having worked at academy level and with Ghana’s first team, I feel like I’m ready to take the next step into management, in England if possible, anywhere in the top five leagues, really. I’m not shy of an adventure. When I came to this country in 1998, I never expected I’d still be here today, but I’m so grateful for the opportunities this country has given me.

The next stage of my career is about finding a managerial position or an assistant role, because I think you can learn a lot from being an assistant. When the opportunity comes along, I know I’m prepared for it. Like I said, I like adventures, and sometimes opportunities and clubs come up and you can see the long-term vision, and where that club is heading. I’m excited, I’m open for anything and hopeful something will come up soon.

My relationship with Gerrard at Villa, and the opportunity he gave me

Steven Gerrard was a fantastic player, let’s start with that. When he came to Aston Villa, everyone at the club was really excited, especially after what he’d done in his first proper job with Rangers. He’s somebody I faced many times on the pitch, and I admired him so much for the player he was – I don’t think many would disagree with my opinion, which is that he would probably be in the top three players of all-time in his position.

It was a real eye-opener for me when he came to Aston Villa. On a personal level, he allowed me to come and work with the first team once a week. I always had four or five of my boys training with the first team, and Gerrard was very keen to welcome me in. I had my own squad to look after, though, which meant I could only really join up with him and the senior squad on my day off, which was a Wednesday. It was an amazing experience for me, and it’s really unfortunate how things went for Gerrard.

I think he’d be the first person to look back and accept that it’s a results business, and if you don’t get results, then pressure mounts. It’s always sad to see a coach lose their job, especially when it’s someone you’ve admired for a long time, and who gave you an opportunity.

I really hope that he’s back in football as soon as possible, because we need young coaches like him, Frank Lampard and Scott Parker – these are the guys who are going to be representing English coaches in the next 10 or 15 years.