Danny Mills warns FA against enforcing strict rules on players' downtime

23 November 2016 14:54

Former England defender Danny Mills has urged the Football Association not to enforce stricter rules regarding downtime for players on international duty.

Pictures emerged earlier this month of Wayne Rooney looking the worse for wear at a wedding reception at the England team hotel in the early hours of Sunday after the Friday night win over Scotland, with reports soon after claiming Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana had visited a strip club.

Both incidents were said to have happened during free time the players were given by interim manager Gareth Southgate, and could lead to measures such as alcohol bans and earlier curfews when with the Three Lions.

Mills has made no secret of his admiration for Southgate and what he considers his exceptional man-management skills.

He believes his former team-mate's ability to understand the needs of individuals in a high-pressured environment is among his greatest strengths, and therefore that more stringent rules would undermine players' performances.

"It's a storm in a teacup," Mills, 39, told Press Association Sport. "It was a night off. It's their choice. Other players around the world do it, and there's no big issue with it. It's been blown out (of proportion).

"The pressures of modern-day football are huge, so if that's the way players choose to relax, they do. It's just part and parcel (of the game).

"You're a grown man. You've got to take responsibility for yourself. You can't have a manager dictating 'You'll meet at this time, you can't go out, you have to be in bed for 9pm'.

"It's like anything, if you try to dictate to people, they will go against it. The best way to do it is discuss with the players, and you make the rules in conjunction with the players so they understand it, and therefore they buy into it. It becomes almost a mini-democracy."

During and after the disappointing 2010 World Cup under the strict management of Fabio Capello, there were reports of player unhappiness at the lack of free time.

Those involved appeared more content in the more relaxed environment Roy Hodgson encouraged until Euro 2016, and Mills remains convinced player downtime should not become a concern despite many believing modern football demands greater discipline than ever before.

"It's life as a footballer," said Mills, who represented Leeds in European competition and also played for England at the 2002 World Cup. "You do it all the time. You travel around a lot: if you're at the top level you're playing European matches.

"From the age of 15, you spend time on a coach, you have a lot of downtime, you learn to manage it. It's just part of life.

"That's how it is. It's no different from a footballer working across Christmas: it's just what you do. Therefore you have big times where there's rest periods where you have to entertain yourself. It's just what you do."

:: Former England defender Danny Mills helped launched Every Player Counts, the EFL Trust's £1.1million nationwide disability project that will give 10,000 people the opportunity to play

Source: PA