Football news - Gareth Southgate England squad is brutal but this remains a bloodless revolution

As a young teen, he insisted on playing both football and rugby to a high level - with an oval ball he always found trying to use his kicking skills at fly-half or full-back - before devoting himself to football. He played for the school team and in the Southampton academy. He got eight O-Levels. He was nicknamed Nord for speaking like TV's Denis Norden. He was, for want of a better word, a bit of a geek.

It paid off though, because he had a steely side too, one that earned him the Crystal Palace captaincy in his early 20s. He went on to play for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and England. Never let it be said that he did not fulfill all the potential he had: Southgate ended his career with 503 league appearances and 57 England caps.

As a manager and a coach, you can see the remnants of that upbringing, where being hard but fair was clearly so valued by him. Southgate was a young player who earned the chance to prove himself and had to keep doing so throughout his career. He was perennially underrated.

Now, he has started to bare his teeth as England manager. He has always been able to charm the media with his apparent honesty and analysis, to win over the public with an attractive style of football and terrific taste in waistcoats and to keep many of the players onside, having worked with him for longer than they have their own club's manager.

"It is getting increasingly difficult to pick a squad because the competition for places is more and more intense," he said.

"There have been some difficult decisions to make."

This latest squad is another example of Southgate's ability to change, or at least adjust, his opinion of players but without the enigmatic selection policy of some of his contemporaries; I'm thinking of the likes of rugby coach Eddie Jones or England cricket selector Ed Smith, both of whom regularly baffle with their picks and the explanation of them.

The highest-profile casualties are exactly that - players with big profiles. Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli are both players who have matured beyond mere talented youngsters. Aged 26 and 23 and with years of top-flight experience behind them, the bar is higher for them than it is for others.

"I think Jesse’s had a difficult period and he’s aware of that," Southgate added.

"He’s never let us down. His performance level for England has been excellent."

It might seem odd for Southgate to talk about showing faith in a player he has just dropped, but it makes perfect sense. Lingard was trending on Twitter minutes after the last squad announcement, because fans could scarcely believe he was still being included. The England boss is understood to be extremely honest with players and it is clear what the situation is for Lingard. His previous performances saved his place last time, but under Southgate that will only get you so far.

Alli too has struggled to make an impact - although at Spurs he is not alone at the moment - and similarly Southgate has allowed him an extra month to prove himself before, as the tabloid media might term it, 'losing patience' with the player. Alli's England career is not over, clearly, but the policy of not allowing player's reputations to carry them too far is unflinching.

Neither, incidentally, are these statement selections, designed to send messages to some of the other more senior Three Lions about the fragility of their own place. Southgate is not one for outlandish displays or stunts.

Southgate said: "The competition is far greater than it was 12 or 18 months ago because we’ve pushed young players in early and given them opportunities and those guys have flourished."

He wants to rewards form and merit but he also recognises that players who have performed for him before are more likely to do so again. It is a simple method but a balance that England managers before, perhaps contorted by the spotlight of the media or perhaps trying to force round pegs into square holes, have routinely failed to strike.

As much as those left out, the names of the players involved merely reinforce that no-nonsense approach to selection. It is hard to believe that Sam Allardyce would ever have called up Harry Winks or Tyrone Mings, or thrown Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham into the fold after so little Premier League experience.

The cynics might say that Southgate could have picked Ron Benson and Tony Hedges for England's two qualifiers against Czech Republic and Bulgaria and they would still find a way to win, but these games have proved stumbling blocks for top-tier nations before who underestimate the challenges posed by the smaller countries.

But in this England squad there is a young hungry group of players for whom hard work and graft are part and parcel. Southgate is more than just the England manager to them. In the most un-Brentian way, he is a mentor, a father figure, a coach, a counselor and a guide. He is something no England manager has been before.