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Southgate, who replaced Sam Allardyce on an interim basis in
September and was named full-time manager in November after four
matches in charge, has been tasked with reviving England's
fortunes after a disastrous Euro 2016 campaign.
"I'm very conscious I've got to get the balance right because
ultimately my responsibility is to produce a winning England
team," the 46-year-old told the Daily Telegraph in an interview.
"I never pick on reputation -- form has to come into it. You
have to look at the opposition and the type of game you're
expecting and select the players best suited to that.
"We have players of great potential but at the moment we're 13th
in the world. We've got to be better, everything we do has got
to be better. Even being second in the world isn't good enough,
we have to be the best we can be, and that's the best."
Southgate also said his side needed to develop the same ruthless
winning mentality that Eddie Jones has instilled in the
country's rugby team, which has led to their unprecedented run
of success.
"It's clear they don't believe they can be beaten. That plays a
huge role," Southgate said after Jones' side scored a late
converted try to beat Wales 21-16 in Cardiff last Saturday to
extend their winning streak to 16 games.
"You get a sense of the culture that's there. One of the things
I was interested in was that culture.
"How are they working? How do they deliver? Because that's what
we are trying to take into the England team: how do we create an
environment that will bring the best out of the players?
"Confidence plays a part. As a coach, you're working out how to
challenge at every moment. That said, the challenge should also
come from the players themselves. Ownership of what they are
doing is really important." (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar
and Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)
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