How Phil Neville built an England culture of pride and patriotism

In his 18 months in charge, England manager Phil Neville has implemented major change on and off the pitch. Katie Whyatt dissects the major differences in the Lionesses set up.

Embracing family values

Fabio Capello infamously banned his players from eating butter at the 2010 World Cup and by all accounts they were left clawing at the glass of their South African goldfish bowl, so bored that Jermaine Defoe and Wayne Rooney ended up watching the latter’s wedding video, in its entirety, at their hotel.

Gareth Southgate slackened the leash last summer but the advantage England’s Women have is that they are not stalked by the paparazzi - a repeat of Baden-Baden 2006 is unlikely.

Steph Houghton’s husband, the former Liverpool defender Stephen Darby, spent time with her in Philadelphia ahead of England’s first SheBelieves Cup match and Lionesses who play abroad - Toni Duggan, Mary Earps and Jodie Taylor - are often given time at home camps to spend exclusively with their families.

“From day one, I’ve treated them with respect,” Neville says. “Every single day of the week when they’re at home, they can do whatever they want. I trust them to behave in a certain way.

“They go to the training ground, they’re intense, they’re in this little bubble - then they can switch off, free to go out and eat whatever they want, go wherever they want, meet their friends.

“When we get to France, it will be intense - but it will be no different. We had a celebration party after the Denmark game - the families were there. After most training [and] games, there’s going to be time for them to relax, to go and see their mum, their dad, just to switch off. The games will be that intense and the expectation that great, they’ll just need to be treated like adults.”

Neville saw the benefits of that approach after England played Brazil one Saturday morning in October. The players were granted the afternoon off to visit their families and “the training session the next day was probably one of the best. They come back and they give you even more.

“The biggest thing that I’ve learned with this group of players is they are very family-orientated. Seeing their family gives them energy, makes them smile. When they come back in, they’re better for me. Rather than fight that, we’ve got to embrace it without it being a circus. I’m a manager that lets my players live their lives, and there’s more to life than football.”

Jordan Nobbs’ secret influence

Arsenal midfielder Jordan Nobbs is the squad’s most critical absentee. Neville learned in November, when Nobbs tore her ACL in a Women’s Super League game against Birmingham City, that she would be unavailable for France.

But from her lengthy rehabilitation process Nobbs’ sense of perspective - the player whose World Cup spot slipped from her grasp at the 11th hour - has become a vital touchstone for the remaining Lionesses.

Nobbs has retained her place in the captains’ group and joined the Lionesses at camps throughout the year, leading team meetings on values, performance and behaviours and joining the squad at Heathrow Airport before the SheBelieves Cup in America.

“She’s been sensational around the camp,” Neville said ahead of England’s friendly against Canada. “Sometimes, as a footballer, you can get into a bubble. You only have to hear Jordan: ‘Hang on a minute - reality check. You’re going to a World Cup. I can’t. Your performance should be this - because I would give my right arm to do that.’

“She’s been fantastic in terms of the drive, performance plans, physical plans, tactical plans we’re trying to implement. She’s found a little niche. At the start she found it very difficult  because she didn’t want to be seen as a spare part, somebody that was almost interfering - but then she realised that there was genuinely a need for her influence. We’re seeing her actually embracing the role that she’s been given.”

Patriot games

The spectre of Gareth Southgate’s missed penalty at Euro 96 soundtracked England’s first-ever World Cup penalty triumph in Russia last summer. Had he finally found closure, more than 20 years on?

Southgate said later the horror of Euro 96 would never leave him. But the lessons he learned from that semi-final against Germany - his ninth England cap - and ill-fatedly volunteering to take a spot-kick for which he was unprepared informed his later approach to penalties as manager. Neville, of course, has England demons of his own. The penalty he gave away against Romania in 2000 resulted in attacks on him and his family; three times he was snubbed ahead of World Cups; Neville was part of the ‘Golden Generation’ that chronically underachieved.

“When you’re talking about the England experience, there is definitely something deep inside of me that thinks there’s still unfinished business,” Neville told Fifa’s website. “It was the biggest disappointment of my career that we didn’t win a Euros or be successful in a World Cup.

“Rather than think about that tackle, it’s the redemption of: I want to be a success as part of an England team. I was involved with probably the best group of England players that’s been produced since 66, and we didn’t win a tournament.”

Subsequently Neville has spoken at length with the players about patriotism, and what it means to play for England. “I remember somebody that I played with, when I was saying how the manager’s not picking me, saying: ‘When you pull on a jersey for Manchester United or England, and you look down, and you’ve got the badge on your left hand side - you should never have a bad day.’

“I thought it was actually really true. Every time before a game, we always say to them: ‘Lots of things can happen, but when you look down and you see that badge on your shirt, you should feel so lucky, so happy, so proud of the work, the people who’ve helped get you there.’ Humility is a big thing.”

Driven by past injustices

England’s younger players - the likes of Manchester City’s Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh - will never know anything other than full-time professional football. Their team-mate Mary Earps, 26, remembers balancing her early career with shifts at her local cinema.

Ahead of the tournament, Neville showed his players a video of Fara Williams, England’s most-capped player, recalling how she had played for her country while homeless. Perhaps her story is unique in its severity but to speak to any England player is to hear a girl who was told she cannot play football. Their predecessors often paid to play. Lucy Bronze was banned by the FA from playing in a mixed-sex team aged 11.

“We’re playing for those before us that fought for us,” Neville said. “These girls sometimes - the Stanways, the Walshs - don’t know anything different from what they’re getting now. Everything’s laid out for them. Every time we do something, we always pay respect to those before us. From where we were then to where we are now - the stadiums we’re playing in, the kit we’re wearing, the opportunities - inspires our group.”