FORMER York City midfielder and coach Jonathan Greening reckons ex-Middlesbrough team-mate Gareth Southgate’s man-management and professional attitude will rub off on his new England charges.

Greening and Southgate played together for three seasons with Boro between 2001 and 2004 with the former believing the latter’s guidance was instrumental in helping launch his distinguished top-flight career.

Following Sam Allardyce’s departure, Southgate has been promoted from under-21s chief to take charge of his country on a caretaker basis for four games, starting with today’s 5pm World Cup qualifier against Malta.

Greening, who is still playing for Tadcaster Albion at the age of 37, is convinced his old pal can now bring some stability to the Three Lions role, saying: “We both arrived at Middlesbrough at the same time and he was made captain and, whilst I might not have seen him as a future England manager back then, I could definitely see him becoming a manager.

“He was brilliant with me. I had just come from Manchester United at the age of 22 and he was one of the best professionals I ever played with.

“He was always on time for training and the last to leave after doing his extra work and, if I ever had any questions about anything, I went to him. When I went there, it was the first season I had played week in, week out for a first team anywhere and I struggled a bit, but Gate, as we called him, was there to give up his time and help me with little bits of advice on what I could do better and what I needed to work on.

“I went on to win three Player of the Year awards the following season and a lot of that was down to the guidance I got off people like him and Paul Ince.”

Despite Southgate’s “Mr Nice Guy” image, Greening also insists the ex-Boro manager has the character needed to command respect in the dressing room.

“People feel comfortable talking to him and he’s a nice guy, but you also don’t play at the top level for as long as he did without having a ruthless streak,” Greening reasoned. “I’ve seen him have a good go at half-time and he can deliver a rollicking when necessary.

“He wouldn’t have been made captain at three or four different clubs if he wasn’t a leader.”

Whilst England’s last experiment in terms of appointing from within did not go to plan when Greening’s one-time Manchester United coach Steve McClaren succeeded Sven Goran Eriksson, the ex-West Brom and Nottingham Forest midfielder feels it is a policy worth revisiting.

“Gate was a model pro and had a really good football brain,” Greening pointed out. “He’s been doing well with the under-21s, so why not?

“It’s worked with Germany, where Joachim Low had worked under Jurgen Klinsmann. Hopefully, it can work for us now because Gate is a great guy, who people have a lot of respect for in the game and I think everybody wants an Englishman to manage the country.”

With defensive deficiencies having proved troublesome, meanwhile, Greening added that Southgate’s experience as a centre back can help address such problems and believes his one-time Fulham team-mate Chris Smalling could be crucial in that process.

“Chris came in from Maidstone when I was at Fulham and you could see he had great potential and that he would go on to better things straight away,” Greening said. “I remember recommending him at the age of 19 when he was in and around our squad to Tony Mowbray at Celtic.

“His career has gone on in leaps and bounds since then and I think Gareth will like him, because he’s fast and can put his foot in, be dominant and pass the ball as well. I think we should be looking at him and John Stones in defence and it will be interesting to see who he starts with.

“He played a lot of his career at centre half and I think he will strengthen that department. We’ve got some good defenders at the moment, especially the young lads.

“Having worked with the under-21s, Gareth also knows who is coming through. I think he’ll work on making us solid without the ball, but he also likes to pass it around as well so, hopefully, we’ll see some entertaining football.”

Having played with and against some members of the current national team, Greening does not accept either the suggestion that representing their country has become a chore for certain individuals, given the public’s frustrations with the side’s fortunes over the past decade.

“I got in one squad under Sven Goran Eriksson and, whilst I didn’t get to play, it was a great experience for me and I think Gate was in the squad as well,” he enthused. “I loved getting called up to the under-18 and under-21 squads and being involved with the senior team was the best feeling in the world.

“Any young footballer dreams of playing for their country and I was buzzing every time I pulled on the Three Lions shirt or training gear, so I can’t see any problems with players not wanting to play for England.”

Greening also admitted that missing out on a full cap does not nag at him and his biggest professional disappointment remains closer to home.

He explained: “It’s not something I regret – not getting a cap – because I achieved so many things being involved in the Premier League and lifting the FA Cup, Champions League trophy, Capital One Cup and Charity Shield. Probably my only regret is that my last professional game with York ended on a downer with that red card at Portsmouth last year because I felt I could have played for the rest of the season and helped the club stay up.”