England U-21 football manager Gareth Southgate has told his squad that he won’t stop them eating baked beans.
Fabio Capello famously banned certain sauces when he managed the senior team, but beans and ketchup will be available to the players as England prepare for the European U-21 Championship.
“Too bloody right (there will be ketchup). I’m not banning baked beans either,” he said defiantly.
“The players have got to be relaxed enough so that they play.
“I have said to them: ‘look – we know internally what our objective is’ – but we want this to be a good life experience for them as well.
“This is part of preparation for going into the seniors.
“We are staying in an area that is far enough out of town that we are not going to be swamped but it is close enough for them to walk in and have a cup of coffee, meet local people or go and see their families.”
Southgate and his 23-man squad landed in the Czech Republic on Sunday to begin final preparations for their tournament opener against Portugal on Thursday.