Cahill keen to take on board Southgate’s ideas

Chelsea defender Gary Cahill says he hopes his first-hand experience of watching interim England manager Gareth Southgate as a player will help him improve as an international centre-back.

Following Sam Allardyce’s departure last week, Southgate will take charge of the next four England games, starting with the World Cup qualifier with Malta on Saturday.

Chelsea assistant first-team coach Steve Holland, who has been Southgate’s number two with the England Under-21s for the past three years, has also stepped up to work with the senior squad.

And Cahill believes their combined knowledge of how England operate will help the squad recover from their shock early exit at Euro 2016.

“Gareth and Steve know how the set-up is, they know how things are run,” he said.

“They’re at St George’s Park all the time when we’re there anyway so they’re familiar with the whole situation.

“He [Southgate] was a top player in his time. As a kid I was at Aston Villa in the Under-13s, 14s and 15s when he was there.

“I watched him many times there growing up and I’m familiar with his career, especially with England.

“He’s got many caps for his country, he’s very patriotic and he’s very familiar with the situation not just as a player but as manager of the U21s.

“I’m looking forward to working under him, listening to him and taking on board his ideas and his plans now for moving forward.”