Brentford boss Thomas Frank defends Gareth Southgate for not giving Ivan Toney a single minute of England action
THOMAS FRANK has defended Gareth Southgate’s decision not to hand Ivan Toney his England debut.
The Brentford striker, 26, became the club’s first player in 83 years to receive a Three Lions call up in the last international window.
But he was LEFT OUT of the squad that lost to Italy 1-0 and did not come off the bench in the 3-3 draw with Germany.
Bees boss Frank, 48, said: “Of course he wanted to play, of course I wanted him to play.
“But it’s Gareth’s decision and I know how it is to be a head coach.
“There are 1000 things to consider. You need to think of the best thing for the team and not an individual player.
“From our perspective, it’s Gareth’s decision and he has done a very good job.
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“No matter that he didn’t come on the pitch, it was still a big moment in his life.
“He wanted to get his cap but before you can do that you need to get called up.
“Hopefully, the call up will give him more energy and willpower.
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“The way to get success is to show resilience and come back from smaller setbacks.
“Ivan hoped to get on the pitch, we need to move forward and prove people wrong by performing well. Ivan has a strong mentality.”